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The Rivers State local government election scheduled for October 5, 2024, is at risk of not being held as planned due to concerns raised by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. Chief Tony Okocha, caretaker committee chairman of the APC in Rivers, has announced that the party will boycott the election unless urgent corrections are made to address procedural flaws.
In a statement made during an enlarged stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt on August 21, Okocha criticized the current electoral process, asserting that it does not adhere to established legal standards. “We are in court and I will not speak in any matter that is in court. The much I can say to you is that the cause of action is to restrain the agencies that will conduct that election that they announced behind us,” Okocha stated.
Okocha further argued that the timeline for the election does not comply with legal requirements. He pointed out that the law mandates that elections should be organized within three months of the expiration of a chairman’s or council’s tenure, with a timetable released and the election conducted within 21 days. According to Okocha, the current arrangements violate this requirement.
The APC claims that it was not involved in the decision-making process leading up to the election. “The APC Rivers State was not invited for the stakeholders meeting where the decision for October 5th election was taken,” Okocha added. He argued that the election process, as it stands, is flawed and lacks transparency, thereby not representing the true interests of the voters.
