After the expiration of a 48-hour ultimatum for the chairman and commissioners of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to appear before the House, the Rivers State House of Assembly has issued a new 72-hour deadline for them to do so.
The decision to extend the ultimatum was made during plenary in Port Harcourt on Friday, following a request from one of the lawmakers, Enemi George. The House voted to extend the deadline to Monday, March 10, to allow Justice Enebeli, the RSIEC chairman, and other officials to appear before them.
Earlier, the House had planned to go on recess, but with the extended ultimatum in place, Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol moved a motion to suspend the break to ensure the RSIEC officials are present for questioning.
Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, also addressed the matter, stating that the legislature had taken note of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s failure to present the 2025 budget to the House, despite a previous 48-hour ultimatum. Amaewhule added that the House would take appropriate action on this issue in due course.
RSIEC has yet to issue any official comment regarding the matter.
The Supreme Court recently annulled the Local Government (LG) election conducted by RSIEC, leading to the House’s demand for the RSIEC officials to appear. On March 5, the House issued a fresh ultimatum and threatened to arrest them if they failed to comply.
This action followed the Supreme Court’s decision to set a new election date of August 9, 2025, after it annulled the October 5, 2024 election in Rivers State. In response, the Amaewhule-led Assembly announced plans to investigate the conduct of the RSIEC chief in light of the annulled election.
Last Friday, the Supreme Court declared the local government election invalid, citing gross violations of the Electoral Act. In its judgment, delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the apex court found that RSIEC had failed to substantially comply with the Electoral Act and its guidelines. Specifically, it noted that the electoral body continued voter registration even after an election date had been set, violating Section 150 of the Electoral Act.
