River LG Polls: INEC denies providing voter register to RSIEC amid controversy

As the Rivers State local government elections, scheduled for October 5, approaches a heated dispute has erupted over the voter register necessary for conducting the polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially denied claims made by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) regarding the provision of this essential document.

On September 30, 2024, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled against INEC’s release of the voter register to the RSIEC, intensifying the controversy surrounding the elections. This ruling came just days after RSIEC Chairman Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.) asserted at a flag-off event in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area that the commission had already received the voter register from INEC prior to the court proceedings.

“The commission under my charge is very proactive. A wise man can never be caught unawares. We are proactive, we follow due process,” Enebeli stated. He emphasized the RSIEC’s preparedness by adding, “Even before the cases went to court, we had liaised with INEC; the correspondence is there. 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.”

However, INEC’s position starkly contradicts Enebeli’s claims. Dr. Johnson Sinikiem, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State, addressed the media in Port Harcourt, clarifying that while RSIEC had requested the voter register, INEC had not officially handed it over. “The RSIEC has written to us about two times for the release of the 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 register,” he explained.

Sinikiem further elaborated on the nature of the voter register, noting that INEC’s Information Communication Technology Department maintains it in a soft copy format, which can typically be provided as certified photocopies.

“Till now, we have not officially handed over the Rivers State voter register to RSIEC. We have not,” he reiterated, dismissing any notion that the commission had previously delivered the register.

Addressing inquiries about the court order, Sinikiem stated that he was only aware of the Federal High Court’s directive, asserting that he had not seen any related state high court order. He attributed the delay in providing the register to administrative procedures rather than intentional withholding.

“I have one from the Federal High Court from Abuja, which was sent to me by the headquarters, directing me to comply with the court order. I have not seen another court order from the state high court,” he said.

In response to INEC’s denial, RSIEC Commissioner for Public Affairs and Civic Education, Tamunotonye Tobins, firmly rejected the claims, stating, “Well, that is not true and INEC cannot in good conscience say that, because the correspondences between the two bodies are here. We have the documents here.”

He insisted that RSIEC had followed due process in obtaining the updated voter register.

Tobins added, “The 2023 updated register of voters for Rivers State is right now in our possession and we got it from INEC. This thing happened last year between July and October.”

He expressed readiness to contest INEC’s denial and assured that election materials had already been secured at the RSIEC office, necessitating heightened security measures.

“Security is guaranteed, everybody is secure as far as the election is concerned. The sensitive materials are secure. They are not printed around as people are insinuating,” he emphasized, assuring the public of the integrity of the materials involved.

Despite the controversy, RSIEC affirmed that the elections would proceed as planned, reiterating the commission’s commitment to a credible electoral process.

He clarified that electronic transmission of results would not occur but guaranteed that the elections would be conducted fairly. “I want to assure Rivers people that even the sensitive materials are embossed. They have security features that you cannot beat,” he concluded.