UPDATED: Fubara orders Rivers LG chairpersons to handover, promises fresh elections
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has directed local government chairpersons in the state to immediately hand over to Local Government Administrators as preparations begin for fresh council elections.
In a statewide broadcast on Sunday, Fubara said the administrators would oversee governance at the local level until new elections are conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
“Given the outlawing of caretaker arrangements in the local government system, I hereby direct the Heads of Local Government Administration to immediately take over the administration of the 23 local government councils pending the conduct of fresh elections by RSIEC,” he stated.
The directive follows Friday’s Supreme Court judgment, which nullified the local government elections held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.
The apex court ruled that the elections were invalid due to the failure of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to meet legal requirements under Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act before conducting the polls. The court also overturned a prior ruling by the Court of Appeal, which had upheld the election results.
The Supreme Court’s decision aligns with an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court, which had restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register to RSIEC. The court had also barred security agencies from providing support for the elections.
Despite a special panel of the Court of Appeal ruling that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over local government election matters, the Supreme Court has now settled the dispute by annulling the elections and paving the way for fresh polls.
With this latest directive, all 23 local government areas in Rivers State will now be under the control of appointed administrators until a new election is conducted.
