Photo: Rt Hon Martins Amaehule, Speaker Rivers State House of Assembly
The Rivers State House of Assembly has issued an arrest warrant for Adolphus Enebeli, the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline to appear before the House.
The assembly summoned Enebeli, along with the RSIEC commissioners, to appear before it on March 7, requesting that he bring relevant documents to explain how the commission had been using state resources without an appropriation law since January 2024.
The lawmakers had warned that failure to comply would result in an arrest warrant being issued.
However, Enebeli and his team failed to show up at the assembly as scheduled, leading to an extension of the deadline, to the RSIEC officials until Monday, March 10.
At the end of the Assembly session on Monday, it was gathered that the RSIEC boss and officials failed to honour the invitation.
It would be recalled that RSIEC announced, on March 5, that local government elections would be held on August 9, 2025, in line with the February 28 judgment by the Supreme Court, annuling the results of the local government elections held on October 5, 2024.
The apex court, led by Justice Jamilu Tukur, noted that the conditions outlined in Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act had not been met before the elections.
Rivers State is currently facing a political crisis due to a dispute between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and former Governor Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Amaewhule-led faction of the assembly is aligned with Wike.
