A motion seeking to stop the upcoming Rivers Local Government Council elections scheduled for August 30, 2025 has been dismissed.
Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt dismissed the motion on Thursday.
Presiding Judge Justice Stephen Jumbo ruled that the application lacked merit and therefore dismissed it. However, the court granted a motion for substituted service to the defendants.
The suit was filed by Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner Williams Abayomi-Stanley against President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), and its chairman.
The claimant sought interpretation of a section of the RSIEC law and the Constitution of Nigeria, specifically questioning whether the President has the legal powers to appoint a chairman and members of RSIEC to conduct local government council elections in the state.
Despite dismissing the motion to stop the elections, Justice Jumbo directed that the August 30th Local Government Council elections should proceed as scheduled. The case has been adjourned to September 10, 2025, for a hearing on the substantive suit.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Godsent Elewa, counsel to the claimant, welcomed the ruling, which granted one of his motions, and expressed readiness to continue with the proceedings on the next adjourned date.
Earlier, the Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, had constituted election tribunals to hear petitions arising from the forthcoming Local Government Council Elections.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, a former APC candidate in the 2015 House of Assembly election in Port Harcourt Constituency 3, Chima Nnokam and four others have filed a suit at the Rivers State High Court, urging it to declare the August 30 scheduled local government election proceedings as unconstitutional.
The claimants in their originating summons against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, the Attorney General of Rivers State, and two financial institutions are seeking declarations that the new RSIEC chairman and members were unlawfully appointed and therefore are not competent to conduct the scheduled election.
They are also seeking a declaration that the commission’s planned local government elections are unlawful and may be set aside due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
They further requested the court to restrain the two financial institutions from disbursing funds belonging to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, urging the court to set aside all actions taken by the RSIEC chairman, Mr. Michael Odey, including the revised timetable for the 2025 local government council election.
The claimants, in their reliefs, also sought a consequential order of injunction restraining the defendants from parading themselves as members and chairman of RSIEC.
Furthermore, the Claimants are requesting the reinstatement of Justice Adolphus Enebeli as Chairman of RSIEC, along with his management team, until their five-year tenure expires, emphasising that they were properly sworn in by the state House of Assembly two years ago.
The prayers partly reads, “A declaration that under and by virtue of Sections 2 and 4 of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018, the 2nd-8th Defendants are not Chairman and Members of the Rivers State independent Electoral Commission, having not been lawfully and validly so appointed in accordance with the mandatory provisions of Section 2 of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018.
“A Declaration that under and by virtue of Section 2 of the Rivers State
Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018, the purported appointment of the 2nd -8th Defendants as Chairman and Members of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) is null, void and of no effect whatsoever.
“A Declaration that under and by virtue of the provisions of Section 2 of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law of Rivers Ştate, the 2nd-8th Defendants, having not been lawfully and validly appointed into office as Chairman and Members of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission are not competent to hold, conduct, organize, undertake or supervise any valid election for the various Local Government Councils that make up Rivers State.
“A Declaration that under and by virtue of Section 2 of the Rivers State
Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018, the 2nd-8th Defendants, having not been validly or lawfully appointed into office as Chairman and Members of the Rivers State independent Electoral Commission, are not competent to perform or execute any of the functions of the Commission set out in Section 5 of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018.
“A Declaration that under and by virtue of Section 2 of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018, the 2-8 Defendants, having not been lawfully and validly appointed into office as Chairman and Members of the Commission, cannot appropriate, receive, disburse or spend monies belonging to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission whether such moneys are in the custody of the 10th and 11 Defendants or any other bank of financial institution.”
