A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Solomon Bob, has raised concerns about Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s involvement in the Rivers State Electoral Commission.
Rep. Bob alleged that Governor Fubara declared himself as the Chairman of the Commission, bringing about doubt on the credibility of the recently held local government elections in the state.
Bob noted that there were several irregularities in the election process. He pointed out that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) hurried to announce the election results at the government house instead of their official office.
The lawmaker highlighted the importance of following legal procedures, stating that a notice should be sent out 90 days in advance to invite participation in the elections.
According to him, the lack of proper campaigning and notifications to other parties made the election process questionable and embarrassing.
In an interview with Channels TV at 19:10, Bob stated: “You have to send a notice 90 days earlier to say everybody should come and participate in the election. If you don’t do that, then you haven’t really prepared for the election, so what’s the point of the election? You don’t wake up after ambushing people and say you want to have an election. There’s no campaign, and there are no notices to other parties. You wake up one day, distribute forms to a few of your colleagues, and then you have an election.
“Then, the RSIEC rushes to somewhere in the government house and announces the result. It was an embarrassment. It doesn’t matter who would have won; the point is to follow the due process by law. It doesn’t matter if he had won with whatever party he chose to run with. I saw Governor Siminalayi Fubara on TV saying he is the Chairman of the Commission. He funds it, and then you saw him invade the commission area with his men before he moved them to the government house. Where was the result of this election announced? Was it at the RSIEC office? It wasn’t. So, let’s be factual when dealing with Rivers state matters.”
Bob therefore called for transparency and adherence to legal standards to ensure fair and credible elections in Rivers State.