CLO rejects ‘unconstitutional’ timetable for council elections in Rivers

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Branch of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has rejected the recently announced timetable for the 2025 local government elections by the reconstituted Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), led by Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey.

On Monday, July 28, Dr. Odey unveiled a revised election timetable, fixing the elections for Saturday, August 30.

The group said this timetable replaced an earlier one issued by the lawfully constituted RSIEC under Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd), which had scheduled the elections for August 9.

The CLO maintained that the new RSIEC board was unconstitutionally constituted and, as such, lacks the legitimacy to conduct or reschedule elections.

In a statement by Mr. Emmanuel Obe, spokesperson, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Rivers State branch, yesterday, said the entire process “is unconstitutional, illegal and a misuse of public funds.

“In addition to the illegality of the commission’s composition, the revised timetable fails to comply with statutory provisions requiring a minimum of 90 days’ notice before election day as provided for in Section Sections 9(6), 19 and 94 of the Electoral Act. The notice given, only 32 days, is grossly inadequate and violates the law.

“Furthermore, the timetable does not include provisions for the display and verification of the voters’ register, nor has the RSIEC confirmed receipt of the register from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This omission raises serious concerns about transparency and voter eligibility, opening the door to widespread manipulation and voter disenfranchisement.”

The CLO, therefore, demands the immediate suspension of the proposed elections and timetable, insisting that, “credible and constitutionally compliant process must be established for conducting local government elections in Rivers State.

“We question the urgency behind the attempt by the current undemocratic administration to rush these elections before the anticipated return to democratic governance in September, when the six-month suspension of the Governor and State House of Assembly will end.

“The legitimate course of action is to allow the reinstated democratic institutions to oversee and conduct the elections in a lawful manner.”

The CLO declared that it would not hesitate to take necessary legal and democratic steps to halt any unconstitutional and undemocratic actions by the “unlawfully constituted RSIEC.”