More controversies have continued to threaten the conduct of the October 5, scheduled local government elections in Rivers with the latest being the declaration by Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it has not released the 2023 voters register needed for the conduct of the election.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Rivers, Dr Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, Wednesday made the announcement revealing that the commission has not handed over the State voters register RSIEC.
The announcement is coming on the heels of an earlier claim by the chairman of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, that the state election umpire had already received the register for the conduct of local government polls.
Speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Dr Sinikiem explained that INEC’s according to the electoral law it had become tradition that INEC must release the voters register to RSIEC before local government elections.
He explained that though the Rivers INEC had received two requests from RSIEC for release of the voter register, the Commission could not comply because of a court order from the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Dr Sinikiem clarified that INEC’s ICT department houses the voter register in soft copy and would typically provide certified photocopies to RSIEC, but insisted that no such document had been handed over.
The REC stated: “The tradition of the commission is that before an election for state at the local government the only responsibility that we have is to give them voters register because we are empowered to maintain and keep voters register for the country.
“However, to make it very clear, the RSIEC has written to us about two times for release of register but we have not released it before we received from our headquarters an order from a Federal High Court restraining INEC from releasing the registers.
“So uptil now we have not officially handed over the Rivers voters register to RSIEC. We have not, the ICT department housed the voter register.
“And voters register is in soft copy and it is in two ways, either we give it to them in soft copy, we photocopy it both black and white and coloured then we stamp certified through copy. But we have not given them, there is no register in our office that will show that we have handed over such document to them. But they have written.”
He further clarified that he had received only one court order from the INEC Headquarters in Abuja and it that of the Federal High Court order from Abuja directing compliance, but was unaware of a separate state High Court order.
When questioned about the delay in issuing the voters register, Dr Sinikiem attributed it to administrative processes.
“I have the one of the Federal High Court from Abuja which was sent to me by my headquarters directing me to comply with the court order. I have not seen another court order from the state High Court.
“Well it is administrative, it not that we withheld it, but when the RSIEC requested, they have to come for the processes, they have not come to conclude the processes before we got the court order. We have not released,” he said.
Dr. Sinikiem referred to the recent elections in Edo State, where INEC provided voters registers to political parties, saying insinuating that probably RSIEC might have gotten hold of copies given to parties before the election.
He added: “Normally, like the recently concluded elections in Edo State, INEC handed over to all the political parties registers of voters for 2023.
“That is the last that we have reviewed. But in Edo, they gave an opening for those who have not registered to be able to register and handed over to them. That is the tradition.
“So maybe they are using the one that is out there but officially we have not handed over the document to them.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli on the 26th of September, during a flag-off ceremony of the voters Register at Ward 2 unit 10 in Rumuodara Town Hall Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state, revealed that RSIEC received the voters register from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prior to any legal issues arising.
He stated, “The 6th Commission under my charge we are very proactive. A wise man can never be taken unawares.
“We (RSIEC) are proactive, we follow due process. Even before the cases went to court we have liaised with INEC, and the correspondences are there. That is it. It is the gift of patience and planning.
“I’m not a last-minute man. I plan ahead. And so all these things were concluded since last year the correspondences are there.
“The display of register will be carried out in all the 6, 866 polling units in the 23 local government areas of Rivers.”