The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed an ex parte motion seeking to halt the local government elections scheduled for August 30, 2025.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Stephen Jumbo ruled that the application, filed by Port Harcourt-based lawyer Williams Abayomi-Stanley, lacked merit.
As a result, the court allowed the elections to proceed as planned.
Abayomi-Stanley had filed the suit against President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and its Chairman, challenging the legality of appointments to RSIEC and seeking clarification on constitutional provisions regarding such powers.
Although the judge dismissed the motion for an interim injunction, he granted a separate request for substituted service, allowing the claimant to serve legal documents on President Tinubu and the Attorney General through alternative means.
The case was adjourned to September 10, 2025 for hearing on the substantive suit.
Speaking to journalists after the hearing, the claimant’s counsel, Godsent Elewa, said the suit aimed to clarify whether the President has constitutional authority to appoint RSIEC officials responsible for conducting local government elections in the state.
“My client is a constitutional lawyer and an indigene of Rivers State. He seeks interpretation of Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the RSIEC Law No. 12 of 2018, as well as Sections 197, 198, and 200 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended,” Elewa said.
Despite the court’s refusal to stop the polls, Elewa expressed satisfaction that the court granted the motion for substituted service, allowing the case to proceed.
“We filed two motions: one to restrain the conduct of the elections, which the court dismissed, and another for substituted service on the President and the Attorney General, which was granted,” he added.
