The Action People’s Party (APP), a prominent opposition party in Nigeria, has expressed strong support for the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) following its announcement of October 5, 2024, as the date for local government elections. The party also praised Governor Sim Fubara for endorsing the electoral process, moving away from the undemocratic practice of appointing caretaker committees.
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In a press briefing in Abuja, APP National Chairman Uche Nnadi welcomed the announcement made by RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retired), at a stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt. Nnadi affirmed that the APP would actively participate in the polls, confident in the democratic stance of Governor Fubara and RSIEC’s impartiality.
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The party called on other governors to emulate the democratic disposition of their Rivers State counterpart and back their respective State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to conduct local election unlike the practice where some of them keep appointing and reappointing caretaker committees.
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“The APP, one of Nigeria’s leading opposition party received with ecstasy the announcement of the RSIEC that it will conduct local government election on October 5, 2024. This is a welcome development and for this action, we pass vote of confidence on the state electoral umpire.
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“We equally hail the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Sim Fubara for his democratic posture to give a nod for RSIEC to hold the exercise though most of his colleagues who they took oath of office on the same day both for their first and second term have not shown the commitment to entrenching democratically elected leadership at the grassroots but have rather continued to appoint and reappoint caretaker committees for more than a year now.
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“By this show of concern in the consolidation of democracy in the state, our party’s confidence has been restored and we will therefore fully participate in the exercise with firm believe that we will win going by pace set by the His Excellency Governor Fubara and the RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, (rted).
“We also urged other Governors and SIECs who are yet to fix date for local government elections since May 29, 2023 to borrow a leaf from Governor Fubara as well as RSIEC and immediately work out the modalities to conduct council polls in order to do away with the undemocratic practice of appointing and reappointing caretaker committees.
“Nigeria, having attained 25 unbroken years of democracy can not continue with the obnoxious practice of running the third tier of government through caretaker committees or sole administrators as it is obtained in some states. The local more than other tiers of government is where democracy is supposed to thrive more if truly it is the ‘government of the people by the people and for the people’ because that is where the people really reside.”
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