The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) says it will only recognise candidates submitted by the Chief Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress (APC) for the August 30 local government elections.
RSIEC’s Commissioner for Administration and Legal Matters, Chidi Halliday, disclosed this during an interactive session with civil society organisations in Port Harcourt.
He explained that the commission received two separate lists of APC candidates—one from the Okocha faction and another from the Chief Emeka Beke-led faction—but only the Okocha-led list met the submission deadline.
“The list from the Chief Beke APC was received for record purposes only,” Halliday stated, adding that RSIEC monitored the Okocha-led primaries and will recognise only their candidates.
Halliday stressed that RSIEC does not interfere in internal party disputes or court cases and works strictly with records provided by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which officially registers political parties and their executives.
“To us, once primaries are concluded, you cannot begin submitting lists afterwards. All those we work with are based on INEC’s official records,” he added.
However, spokesman for the Beke-led APC, Darlington Nwauju, insisted their list was submitted on time and that their faction remains the legally recognised party leadership.
“Any attempt to publish names without the endorsement of our Chairman, Emeka Beke, and State Secretary, Sam Sam Etetegwung, as APC candidates in Rivers State will attract legal consequences,” Nwauju warned.
The leadership tussle stems from a Rivers State High Court ruling last year, which reinstated the Emeka Beke-led executive loyal to former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. The executive had earlier been dissolved by the Abdullahi Ganduje-led APC National Working Committee over alleged anti-party activities.
Meanwhile, RSIEC Chairman, Dr. Michael Odey, assured that the commission is committed to delivering free, fair, and credible polls on August 30.
He said RSIEC had obtained the official voter register from INEC and would soon display it for public inspection.
“We have a signed letter from INEC issuing us the voter register. It is authentic, and the INEC Chairman has pledged full support,” Odey stated.
