Rerun: Rivers PDP, APC bicker over court order

Forum 7 years ago

Rerun: Rivers PDP, APC bicker over court order

AHEAD of the legislative rerun in Rivers State billed for October, the Peoples Democratic Party has disagreed with the All Progressives Congress in the state over a court order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from announcing the result of a poll from Tai Local Government Area.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had ruled on an interlocutory injunction stopping INEC from generating, compiling or announcing any results of rerun election for Tai LGA.

While the state PDP maintained that INEC was bound by law to obey the ruling of the court, the APC in the state had described the court ruling as worthless, adding that only an election tribunal was competent to rule on matters concerning elections.

The state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, told newsmen in Port Harcourt on Thursday that INEC would be against the rule of law should it go ahead and declare a result of an election that did not hold.

Nwanosike, who specifically called on INEC Commissioner in charge of Operations, Amina Zakari, not to declare the Tai election results, described such results as concocted.

He said, “INEC must obey the court order or go to a higher court to vacate the order. If the APC is saying that the order is worthless, that means that the party (APC) is not ready to obey the rule of law.

Reacting, the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Finebone, said the Electoral Act forbade any court from questioning INEC on any matter other than by petition complaining of undue election to a tribunal or court.

Finebone described the court order which restrained INEC from announcing the Tai LGA results as worthless.