Court Strikes Out Lawsuit Challenging Rivers Local Govt Elections

The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has thrown out a suit challenging the legality of the August 30 local government elections conducted in the state.

The suit, filed by one Williams Stanley, legal practitioner, was instituted against President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) alongside its chairman.

Stanley had in the suit questioned the legitimacy of the appointments and actions leading up to the polls, particularly the role of the Sole Administrator and the composition of RSIEC.

In the suit, Stanley argued that President Tinubu lacked the constitutional power to appoint a Sole Administrator for Rivers State, as well as to nominate the RSIEC chairman and members who oversaw the elections.

He stressed that such appointments undermined the credibility of the August 30 local government polls.

However, delivering judgment on the suit, the presiding judge, Justice Stephen Jumbo, dismissed the case, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

Justice Jumbo explained that under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), only the Supreme Court has the exclusive authority to adjudicate matters relating to emergency rule.

He further ruled that the claimant lacked the locus standi to institute the suit, stressing that Stanley had not demonstrated any personal interest or violation of his civil rights.

“The claimant has failed to show any direct injury or hardship he would suffer if the reliefs he sought were granted,” Justice Jumbo stated, according to PM News.

“The interest he seeks to protect is not his own, but that of the state governor, a position he does not hold.”

On the conduct of the elections, the court declared that the August 30 local government polls were constitutional and valid.

The court noted that the polls were organised by RSIEC, and not by the Sole Administrator or the Governor.

Following the court’s decision, Justice Jumbo refused to award costs against the claimant.