A group, the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, has sued the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly, challenging their authority to appoint Electoral Officers for the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The civil rights group, in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/1196/2025, asked the court to nullify the president’s nominations and Senate’s approval, citing a lack of constitutional powers to appoint state electoral officials.
According to the group in the suit filed on its behalf by Mr. Kalu Agu, only the governor of Rivers state is constitutionally empowered to appoint a chairman and six members for RSIEC.
In the Originating Summons, the plaintiff prayed the court to determine whether Sections 11(4), 197, 198, 199, and 201 of the 1999 Constitution gave the president powers to seek approval of the senate to constitute an electoral committee for Rivers local governments.
If the court affirms the constitutional provisions, the rights group asked for a declaration that only the Rivers governor could appoint and remove the chairman and six members of the state electoral committee.
In a 30- 30-paragraph affidavit in support of the originating summons, the advocacy group claimed to be a non-profit, pro-democracy, human rights, anti-corruption, and public interest advocacy organisation registered in Nigeria.
The affidavit said that the Rivers governor had duly constituted an electoral commission that was discharging its statutory functions, among which was conduct of local government election for the state on Oct. 5, 2024.
The affidavit stated that the tenure of the electoral committee appointed by the governor had not expired, so it could not be unlawfully removed or dissolved, especially since its members had not resigned.
The affidavit said that since the defendants took an oath to protect the country’s constitution, the court should compel them to uphold the provisions of the constitution in the interest of justice. No date has, however, been fixed for hearing of the suit.