RSIEC Chairman, Commissioners Appear Before Rivers Assembly, Today

The chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Prof. Augustine Ahiazu, and the Commissioners working with the electoral body are expected to appear before the state House of Assembly, today.
This is sequel to an invitation extended to the commission by the Assembly, last week.
The chairman of RSIEC and its commissioners were invited through a letter signed by the Clerk of the House, Mr. Emmanuel Odum, to clarify the role they played in the conduct of the council election.
They  were specifically directed to appear before the House with relevant documents that were used for the local government polls.
The chairman and top officials of the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission (RSJSC) were also summoned to appear before the lawmakers.
Although, it was not clear why the RSJSC chairman and commissioners were invited, source told The Tide that it might not be unconnected with the strike action embarked upon by judiciary workers in the state.
The workers had gone on strike on June 9, last year and called it off on June 1, this year, three days after Chief Nyesom Wike was sworn in as the new governor of the state.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state had decried the invitation of the RSIEC chairman and commissioners by the lawmakers.
The APC chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, said that the legislators goofed by their action.
Ikanya said, “The House of Assembly is aware that there are two suits before the Federal High Court relating to the May 23, 2015 local government elections. The first case was instituted by the Peoples’ Democratic Party at the Federal High Court whose members are currently members of the 8th Assembly.
“The matter is now even at the Court of Appeal. The second suit was instituted by the elected local government chairmen and their councillors against the governor, the House of Assembly and others and the House have been duly served with the court processes.”