INEC Chairman Clarifies Stance on Rivers State House of Assembly Crisis
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has shed light on the organisation’s stance on the ongoing political impasse within the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The crisis stems from a longstanding power struggle between two rival factions, with one group loyal to the state governor, Nyesom Wike, and the other to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Siminalayi Fubara. The Fubara faction has petitioned INEC to conduct by-elections to fill the seats of the 25 assembly members aligned with Wike, which were reportedly declared vacant.
Yakubu refused to take sides, stating that the commission’s inaction is attributed to the numerous, conflicting court judgments at both state and federal levels, making it difficult to determine the legitimacy of the rival factions involved. “The seats of 25 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were declared vacant by three other members, only for the 25 members to neutralize this move by declaring the seats of the three vacant themselves,” he explained.
The INEC chairman highlighted that the commission is carefully monitoring these developments, as well as judgments from the Rivers High Court and Federal High Court, which offer divergent views on the legality of the lawmakers involved. Yakubu expressed his concerns about the potential for the recurrent cycling of by-elections, noting that since July 2023, INEC has managed approximately 20 by-elections nationwide.
To address this challenge, INEC is exploring an innovative approach where political parties could directly nominate a new representative to fill a vacant seat following the death or resignation of a member. This concept is commonly practiced in other democracies and would greatly reduce financial burdens on the commission.
Regarding the upcoming Ondo State governorship election, Yakubu reassured that the commission has integrated lessons from past elections to enhance voter accreditation and the prompt uploading of results on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. He encouraged legal experts and the general public to contribute their insights on potential changes to the electoral process, reiterating INEC’s commitment to ensuring consistency, legitimacy, and efficiency in addressing electoral matters.
