The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the local government elections conducted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s administration in Rivers State. This decision, delivered on Thursday, overturned a Federal High Court ruling that had nullified the elections.
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that the Action Peoples Party (APP) won 22 out of 23 local government areas in the elections held a few Saturdays ago. The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) declared APP as the victor in 22 of the local governments, with results for Etche Local Government and 319 councillorship positions pending.
RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd), clarified that the election took place across 6,866 units in the state, with 18 political parties participating.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) was dissatisfied with the results and approached the Federal High Court, challenging the election on grounds of alleged Electoral Act violations. The lower court ruled in favor of the APC.
However, the Court of Appeal found that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case and ruled that the Electoral Act does not apply to local government elections.
