“He Should Be Ashamed of Himself”: Gov Fubara Berates IGP Egbetokun

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has publicly condemned Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun amid ongoing tensions regarding the forthcoming local government elections in the state. Fubara made these remarks during a press conference held at the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office on Friday morning.

The governor expressed his discontent over the police’s decision to withdraw security personnel stationed at election sites, claiming that this was based on a misinterpretation of a recent court order. “The Inspector General of Police should be ashamed of himself,” Fubara stated, questioning, “Which court order says elections should not hold?”

He emphasized that no court ruling explicitly prohibited the elections, referring to a Federal High Court’s directive that merely instructed the police not to provide security for the elections. “We do not need your security; it happened in Anambra, enough is enough,” he asserted, reaffirming his commitment to proceed with the elections scheduled for October 5, 2024.

Fubara’s comments come in the wake of a Federal High Court ruling that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the 2023 voter register to RSIEC, complicating the electoral process. Despite this, a separate ruling from a Rivers State High Court directed RSIEC to move forward with the elections, underlining the urgency of filling vacant council positions as mandated by the Supreme Court.

Fubara declared Thursday and Friday as public holidays in preparation for the elections and asserted, “Any failure on our part to conduct the local government election would be a clear disobedience of the Supreme Court’s mandatory order that no state government must administer local government councils in Nigeria with unelected officers.”