By Jimitota Onoyume

PORT HARCOURT — LEADER of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Chidi Lloyd, has said that the decision of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, to conduct local government elections on May 23, was in line with the state electoral laws.

Meantime, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chief O.C.J. Okocha, SAN, has said that the decision by RSIEC to conduct the council election was ill conceived, stressing that the governor at this time should not be bugged down by the issue of local government election since he has less than 40 days to leave office.

Lloyd yesterday, said the law was amended in March 2011, giving political parties five days to submit candidates for the election.

He said: “The RSIEC law was amended on March 8, 2011. Section 5 of the law provides five days notice as against what it was before the amendment. So, parties are to present their candidates within this period. The five days will enable parties conduct their primaries and present candidates for the elections. The law is clear so the RSIEC is acting within the law.

“There is no place in the Constitution that stops the governor from acting as governor because his administration will soon elapse.”

Chief Okocha, on his part, said that conducting local government election was an issue that required stakeholders going through stages like screening of candidates, notification of those screened and substitution of candidates by political parties where necessary.

“This is the time the governor should be preparing his hand over notes. Don’t forget that this is an election that should have been held long ago. But the governor kept appointing Caretaker Committees.

“RSIEC law stipulates milestones that require the giving of notice first to the political parties and the general public that elections are to be conducted. Thereafter, parties will respond and furnish the commission with names of those likely to contest the elections. There is a period of screening for those to contest to be conducted by the commission.

“Then a date is scheduled for the elections. The parties will be notified that so and so candidates have been cleared. There is also additional time to substitute candidates not cleared. It is a process. I find it funny that this is being done at the terminal stage of Governor Amaechi‘s administration.”