LG Polls: RSIEC Begins Screening Of Candidates, Next Week

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) says it will commence the screening of candidates for the forthcoming local government elections next week.
The Commission made this known during an emergency meeting it held with political party chairmen and secretaries in the state.
RSIEC also gave the assurance that the elections would be held on October 5 as earlier scheduled.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen at the end of the meeting.
The statement read in part: “After an emergency meeting with all Chairmen and Secretaries of political parties in Rivers State by RSIEC, it was resolved as follows:
“The October 5th Local Government Council election still holds.
“The commission will commence screening of candidates by next week.”
The state electoral commission’s clarification comes amid speculation that the unrelenting political crisis in the state might force RSIEC to postpone the date of the elections.
Obviously,, the two major political parties in the state and country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) appear not ready for the elections as their state internal crises remain unresolved.
The conduct of the elections is expected to end the practice of appointing caretaker committees to run the affairs of local government councils in the state.
The Supreme Court had outlawed the administration of local governments by unelected officials and ordered that funds should not be released to LGs that are being run by caretaker committees.
However, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, appointed the current caretaker committees to run the 23 LGAs of the state before the apex court pronouncement on local government autonomy.