THE RECENT COURT OF APPEAL JUDGEMENT ON THE RIVERS STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS: VICTORY FOR THE

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THE RECENT COURT OF APPEAL JUDGEMENT ON THE RIVERS STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS: VICTORY FOR THE RULE OF LAW\r\n\r\nWe are highly elated with the bold ruling of the Court of Appeal with regards to the concluded local government elections in Rivers State.\r\nThis judgement nullified the befuddling ruling of the Abuja High Court of Justice Peter Lifu, which ruled against the holding of local government elections in Rivers State, and further instructed INEC not to release the voters register to the RSIEC and surprisingly, in great contradiction to the statutory role of the Police, instructed them not to provide security and protection to the citizens of Rivers State during the election. This sounded like a Court sanctioned invitation to anarchy.\r\nWe strongly believe that it is high time Judges who blatantly misapply the law, for whatever reasons, are seriously sanctioned before they capsize our ship of state.\r\nThe judgement of the Appeal Court is a great step forward for the judiciary and it will help to restore the hope, trust and confidence of Nigerians in that institution; which has always been touted as the last hope of the common man.\r\nFor democracy to thrive the judiciary must remain a neutral arbiter in the partisan tussles for power by politicians and political interests.\r\n\r\nWe give kudos to the judiciary on this landmark judgement and hope that this marks a path of redemption for that exalted institution to the benefit of the democratic advancement of Nigeria.\r\n\r\nAt SSRC-4RC, we remain committed to our objectives, which are built around the pillars of fairness, justice and equity in Rivers State, the South South, and in Nigeria as a whole.\r\nOur aims as previously stated in our past publications remain:\r\n\r\na) To avoid Nigeria repeating the mistakes of the past, especially the parochial political conflicts that put an end to the First Republic.\r\nb) To end the impunity of personal interests overriding the interest of a state or the nation as is unfortunately becoming evident in Rivers State; where Nyesom Wike is on a one man ruinous crusade to trample on the rights of the government and citizens of Rivers State.\r\n\r\nc) Full restoration of Rivers State allocation from the Federation Account. Denying Rivers State, which makes substantial contributions to the federation account, her deserved allocation portends great danger for the socio economic well being of our nation. Such injustice must not stand.\r\nThis is an injustice that should not be allowed to stand in the interest of the unity and progress of Nigeria.\r\nWe want the right thing to be done for the people of Rivers State. Let what is due to that state be released to them without further delay in order not to hinder the development and welfare of the people of Rivers State.\r\n\r\nd) We reiterate our appeal to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to intervene in order to avert any crisis that may degenerate into nightmares such as the political imbroglio of the 1960s in the Western region/Nigeria.\r\nMr. President, your Statesmanly intervention is critical in order to rein in and stop the architect and sponsor of the crisis in Rivers State.\r\n\r\ne) We also seek to underline the lesson from our history, which is that a problem in a part of the nation, if not addressed in a fair and equitable manner can spiral into an uncontrollable national crisis as witnessed in the 1960s and beyond.\r\n\r\nf) We also seize this opportunity to reiterate that the issue of RESOURCE CONTROL be given an urgent consideration.\r\nIt is only resource control that can ensure that at no time will any part of the country be denied what is rightfully theirs on the altar of politics and personal self interest as is playing out in Rivers State today.\r\n\r\nWe humbly appeal to Mr. President, the National Assembly, the Governors, PANDEF, and other like minded associations in the Niger Delta, and indeed all fair minded Nigerians, to support this call for the RESTORATION of RIVERS STATE FEDERAL ALLOCATION and the enactment of the enabling laws for RESOURCE CONTROL.\r\n\r\nFinally, we wish to restate our total support and confidence in the judiciary as it embarks on the task of redeeming itself and regaining the trust and confidence of the generality of our citizenry.\r\nWe hope and pray that this bold judicial intervention in the Rivers State LG elections marks the beginning of more landmark and courageous pronouncements from our citadel of justice.

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