Rivers LG polls abuse of democracy – Centre blasts Fubara, declares election illegal

The Centre for Truth and Justice, CTJ has declared that the recently concluded local government election in Rivers State was an abuse of the country’s democratic principles.

Newspot recalls that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, on Saturday, October 5, conducted election in all the LGAs of the state.

The election took place amid a judgement by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, declaring that RSIEC failed to follow due process by not publishing the mandatory 90-day notice before fixing the date for the election.

In an effort to stop the election, the court barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voters’ register.

It also stopped the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services, DSS, from providing security during the election.

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Despite the order, the election was conducted on Saturday with the Action Peoples Party, APP winning chairmanship positions in 22 out of the 23 LGAs of the state.

Reacting, the Executive Director of CTJ, Obinna Francis, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja on Monday that the election was conducted without “transparency, accountability, or legitimacy.”

He stated that the move by Governor Fubara to conduct the election despite the court order was a “dangerous precedent that threatens the very fabric of our democracy.

“We condemn in totality the charade, mockery, and the total abuse of our democratic process by the purported conduct of local government elections in Rivers State,” Francis said.

“What transpired in Rivers State is a travesty of democracy, an affront to the will of the people, and a direct assault on the rule of law.

“The so-called election that took place is not only an illegal act but also a violation of every democratic principle that this nation stands for,” he said.