Anita Ogona
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has said the Inspector General of Police should be held responsible in the event of any breakdown of law and order in the State.
Gov. Fubara stated this during a world press conference held in Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday to alert the public on the clandestine moves made by the men of the Nigeria Police at the wee hours of Friday to invade the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission office.
The governor noted that he got a security report that RSIEC office was invaded by the Nigerian Police few hours of getting a signal of Police withdrawing officers guarding the premises of the electoral body, which necessitated his visiting the place. On arrival he saw some fierce looking Policemen in one truck and three other empty vans trying to force their way into the premises, but were subsequently stopped.
He expressed dismay that the movement was a deliberate attempt by the Nigerian Police command from both Rivers State and the Force headquarters to steal electoral materials in order to truncate Saturday, October 5 election
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The governor wondered why they were particular about attacking a State agency as RSIEC when in actual fact the court judgment they were bandying did not order the sealing of the agency or stopping the conduct of the election, but merely ordered INEC not to issue voters register, and asked Police not to participate.
“First on the issue of voters register, RSIEC had already informed us that they have voters register, so why would the election not go on. On the issue of security, if the Police feels they don’t want to be part of the election, they should withdraw. I am saying this here so that the Inspector General of Police should be aware and also know that any act against this election will bring a situation of lawlessness in this State and I think at the end of the day he should be prepared to take responsibility.”
“However, the Rivers State Government and RSIEC have a judgment that states clearly that the elections should be conducted with the voters register of 2023. Police, DSS, Nigerian Army, and other sister agencies should provide security. I might not be a lawyer but I understand clearly that when it comes to the issue of judgment, there is something they call first in hand, so what is this special interest about the federal High Court judgment.”
“Secondly, why are they looking for a way to stampede this State. The Supreme Court gave a judgment that all local government activities must be conducted by elected officers. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in a meeting with the State governors agreed that compliance to this judgment should be in 90 days with the effect from the judgment date and all other States are conducting elections to ensure they comply with the directive of not just the Supreme Court, but also the understanding that we had with Mr. President. And what Rivers State is also doing is not different from that.”
“But as a reminder, after the incident that happened in Nigeria on June 12, the Supreme Court ruled that when it comes to the issue of electioneering no Court should stop the process of election.”
He urged those who are aggrieved and wouldn’t want to participate in the election to go to Court rather than their futile effort of attempting to stop the electioneering process in order to create problems in the State, adding that people are already complaining of hardship and hunger and the detractors are attempting to stampede the Local Government civil servants in the State.
Gov. Fubara assured Nigerians and the peace loving people of Rivers State that his administration has done everything that is needed to ensure that the local government election holds as scheduled.
The governor queried why the case of Rivers State is always different, when interpreting the law or acting on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as administration of Local Government is the affairs of the State Government and no federal institution can dictate in any form the way and manner that local government system should operate.
“So I have gathered you this morning to inform you that any attempt by anyone or agencies to stop this election shall be resisted it. We will not put Rivers State in that state of anarchy, where the system of local government administration will be suspended because of the protection of one person’s interest.”
He commended the peace loving and courageous people of Rivers State who came out in the early hours of Friday to support his government in resisting the illegal attempt by the Nigeria Police.
The governor said he does not need to invite the Nigeria Police, as it is their statutory responsibility to maintain peace and order, stressing that there is no Court in the country that can give the Police an order to be an enemy to the state.
“So I am surprised that the Police have decided to be an enemy to Rivers State. But I want to believe that this information that we are getting and this action they are taking is not coming from the right source. So if that is the truth the Police should better correct the impression.”
“Let me also say this, the election on Saturday is sacrosanct. We must join hands together to make sure that the election holds. We will also make sure that after the election, the winners will be sworn in and they will commence the activities of administering their local government.”
Gov. Fubara pointed out that before the commencement of the process his administration wrote a formal letter to the National Security Adviser with a copy of the judgment to give protection to the election and a copy of the judgement was also sent to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of DSS and other security agencies, believing that with such correspondence Mr. President will also be aware.
He noted that the Police withdrawing their services will not mar or jeopardize the election as there are other security agencies that will participate in the process.
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