A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit challenging the legality of the recently concluded local government elections in the State.
The case was filed by a Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Williams Stanley, against President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Sole Administrator of the state, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), and its chairman.
Stanley had asked the court to nullify the August 30 local government elections, questioning the legality of the Sole Administrator’s appointment by President Tinubu and the administrator’s nomination of the RSIEC chairman and members to conduct the polls.
Delivering judgment, Justice Stephen Jumbo held that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit and that the claimant did not have the locus standi to institute the action.
He noted that, under the Constitution, only the Supreme Court has the exclusive jurisdiction to entertain such suits during emergency rule.
The judge also ruled that Stanley failed to prove that he had a personal interest above public interest or that his civil rights had been breached. “The interest the claimant seeks to protect is not his personal interest but that of the governor of the state, a position he is not holding,” Justice Jumbo said.
On the conduct of the August 30 election, the court declared it constitutional and legitimate, stressing that it was carried out by RSIEC and not by the governor or the sole administrator.
Justice Jumbo declined to award costs against the claimant but maintained that his claims lacked sufficient proof of injury or hardship.
Speaking after the ruling, the claimant’s lawyer, Godsent Elewa, said he would encourage his client to appeal the judgment.
However, counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was the fifth defendant in the suit, Monday John-Otokwala, hailed the decision, describing it as a true reflection of the law.
The ruling is expected to bring temporary respite to RSIEC and the Rivers State Government but could set the stage for an appeal in the coming weeks.
