The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that it has not officially released the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
Dr. Johnson Sinikiem, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State, made this statement while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
This comes after RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, announced on September 26, during the flag-off of the voter register at Ward 2, Unit 10 in Rumuodara Town Hall, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, that RSIEC had received the voter register from INEC before any legal issues emerged.
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Justice Enebeli stated, “The 6th Commission under my charge we are very proactive. A wise man can never be taken unawares. We are proactive, we follow due process. Even before the cases went to court we have liaised with INEC and the correspondence is there.
“That is it. It is the gift of patience and planning. I’m not a last-minute man. I plan ahead. And so all these things were concluded since last year the correspondences are there.”
However, Sinikiem clarified that while RSIEC had requested the voter register, INEC had not yet handed it over, as the process was interrupted by a communication from INEC headquarters regarding a court order.
He explained that INEC typically provides the voter register to RSIEC before local government elections, as required by law.
He also mentioned that the state INEC office had received two requests from RSIEC for the voter register, but compliance was delayed due to a court order from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Sinikiem further clarified that INEC’s Information Communication Technology Department holds the voter register in soft copy and usually provides certified photocopies to RSIEC, but confirmed that no such document has been handed over to the state election body.
He said, “The tradition of the commission is that before an election for State at the local government the only responsibility that we have is to give them voters register because we are empowered to maintain and keep voters register for the country.
“However, to make it very clear, the RSIEC has written to us about two times for release of the register but we have not released before we received from our headquarters an order from a Federal High Court restraining INEC from releasing the registers. So until now we have not officially handed over the Rivers state voters register to RSIEC, we have not! The ICT department housed the voter register.
“And the voter register is in a soft copy and it is in two ways. Either we give it to them in soft copy, we photocopy it both black and white and colour then we stamp certified through copy. “But we have not given them, there is no register in our office that will show that we have handed over such documents to them. But they have written.”
Addressing the court orders, Sinikiem stated that he had only received one court order from INEC headquarters in Abuja, specifically the Federal High Court order directing compliance. He added that he was unaware of any separate order from a state High Court.
When asked about the delay in issuing the voters register, Sinikiem cited administrative procedures, saying, “I have the one of the Federal High Court from Abuja which was sent to me by my headquarters directing me to comply with the court order. I have not seen another court order from the state High Court.
“Well it is administrative, it is not that we withheld it, but when the RSIEC requests, they have to come for the processes, they have not come to conclude the processes before we got the court order. We have not released,” The State INEC REC said.
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In response to INEC’s denial, the RSIEC Commissioner for Public Affairs and Civic Education, Tamunotonye Tobins, stated that the national electoral body cannot deny providing the updated voter register for the upcoming council elections.
Tobins added that RSIEC had followed due process in obtaining the register and emphasized that the correspondence between the two electoral bodies is on record.
He stated, “Well, that is not true and INEC cannot in good conscience say that because the correspondences between the two bodies are here. We have the documents here.
“They (INEC) have given us all that we needed for the election and we are proceeding with the election. The 2023 updated register of voters for Rivers State is right now in our possession and we got it from INEC. This thing happened last year between July and October.”
He added that the commission is prepared to challenge INEC’s denial, noting that election materials have already arrived at the RSIEC office, which explains the heightened security presence at its office on Aba Road in Port Harcourt.
The RSIEC Commissioner for Public Affairs and Civic Education also refuted circulating rumors that election results were being pre-written.
“The security presence you see there is at the instance of RSIEC. We were with the Commissioner of Police and his team on Monday this week wherein we had a robust interface. In that meeting, we had the assurances of the security operatives that the security of materials is guaranteed.
“I can tell you this for a fact, security is guaranteed, everybody is secured as far as the election is concerned. The sensitive materials are secured. They are not printed around as people are insinuating. If there are results that people are insinuating we don’t have knowledge of that and there is nothing like that.
“I want to assure Rivers people that even the sensitive materials are embossed. They have security features that you cannot beat. It has not gone out. The time for it to go out when it gets to that time that is on the election day proper.”
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