Tinubu, Rivers Administrator and RSIEC Sued over Planned Local Government Election
A former Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Marshall Stanley-Uwom, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop the Federal Government from releasing Local Government Council (LGC) funds to the Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), who was appointed under emergency rule by President Bola Tinubu.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/797/2025, names President Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Senate, key legislators, the Central Bank, Accountant-General, and the Federation Account Allocation Committee as co-defendants. Uwom argues that the emergency administration and the takeover of LGC affairs by unelected officials lack constitutional backing under Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution and relevant Supreme Court precedent.
He is specifically challenging:
The legality of declaring the state of emergency without a two-thirds National Assembly approval as required under Section 305(6)(b) of the Constitution;
The authority of Vice Admiral Ibas to replace elected local officials and remove the duly appointed RSIEC leadership;
The release of local government funds to caretakers rather than elected councils;
And the constitutional power of the President or Senate to appoint RSIEC officials, which Uwom argues rests solely with the Rivers State Governor.
This development unfolds just months after the Supreme Court annulled Rivers State’s October 5, 2024, local government election on grounds of procedural irregularities by RSIEC, prompting the rescheduling of fresh polls. That decision has already injected uncertainty into the state’s local governance structure.
The legal challenge marks a significant escalation in Rivers State’s ongoing political and constitutional crisis, questioning the legitimacy of top-down appointments imposed during emergency rule, and may further delay the conduct of legally valid local elections.
