The controversy surrounding the nomination of a non indigene to head a sensitive body like the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) by the state Sole Administrator, Rtd Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas re-echoed in the upper legislative assembly of the national assembly.
The echoes were resoundingly loud on Tuesday when the Nigerian senate questioned the rationale and morality behind the nomination of a non-indigene as Rivers state electoral commission chairman.
The Solad nominees for the constitution of the board of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) are currently facing screening by the Senate’s committee on emergency rule, where the nomination of Michael Odey as its chairman topped the agenda and overshadowed the screening of other nominees.
Odey, who comes from Cross River State as the SOLAD, has been questioned regarding his eligibility to lead a state electoral body in which he is not a native. His nomination has attracted significant attention, especially since the current Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, is also from Cross River.
In his response before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Emergency Rule, in defense of his nomination, Michael Odey asserted that there are no legal barriers preventing his nomination under the RSIEC enabling law. “With utmost respect, I have reviewed the RSIEC’s enabling law, and there is nothing that prohibits the appointment of someone from outside the state as chairman of the electoral management body.”
But Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who chairs the committee, voiced concerns about the broader implications of appointing a non-indigene to such a vital role. “We have the law in our possession, so please provide it to the committee because, in my opinion, while the Independent National Electoral Commission serves the entire Federal Republic of Nigeria, a State Independent Electoral Commission is specifically about that state,” Bamidele stated.
He cautioned that although the law may not explicitly forbid such an appointment, it raises serious questions regarding public perception, legal consistency, and political precedent. “This is not an issue we can overlook. It must be something we can defend. Even if the law does not prohibit this appointment, we have to ensure that it does not go against public conscience,” he emphasized.
The Senate leader also mentioned that the committee would reassess the eligibility criteria in the RSIEC law to ensure that the appointment aligns with the principles of federalism and local representation.
Other nominees screened for membership of the commission include Lezaasi Lenee Torbira, Arthur Nwafor, Godfrey Mbudiogha, Joyce Akaniwor, Olive A. Bruce, and Chidi Halliday.
However, apart from condemning the appointment of a non indigene as chairman of such an important body as RSIEC, political watchers in the state have observed that other nominees are lackeys of the FCT Minister.
They have therefore concludedly confirmed what started as a rumour in the state that the SOLAD is mandated to hand over local councils in the state to the FCT Minister as part of the ongoing settlement for the political impasse that had engulfed the oil rich state in the last 23 months, leading to the suspension of democratic structures.
This rumour gained ground days before the last democracy day when Fubara’s supporters were skeptical on the wide expectation that the President may recall the governor back to office to mark this year’s democracy day.
Their skepticism and apprehension were based on the fact that the SOLAD, mid term into his six months tenure is rumoured to be hell-bent on conducting local government elections in the state in order to hand over the grassroots to the FCT Minister.
