Joint Action for Democracy Wants Rivers REC, Johnson Sinikem Sacked Over Failed Attempt to Help Pro-Wike Group Derail Rivers LG Election

The Joint Action for Democracy (JAD) has called for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State, Dr Johnson Sinikiem after his failed attempt to help the Pro Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) group to scuttle the Saturday, October 5, local government election in the state.

JAD maintained that the election was going to hold as scheduled hence the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission(RSIEC) was already in possession of the Voter’s Register, contrary to lies being dished out by Sinikiem.

The group in a statement expressed disappointment and shock over the attitude of the REC who keeps denying that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) register has not been made available to the State’s Electoral body to create a wrong impression that RSIEC was not ready for the polls to perpetuate the antics of Wike’s faction.

“As a democratic group under the ageis of Joint Action for Democracy (JAD), we are deeply worried over the activities of the
Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State, Dr Johnson Sinikiem in his failed attempt to aid and abet some Wike-led elements to details the Saturday, October 5, 2024 Rivers State local government election.

“Just few days to the election, Sinikiem addressed the media when he claimed though RSIEC had requested the register, INEC was yet to hand over the document to it and added that the process was ongoing before they received communication about a court order from INEC headquarters.

“He also claimed that INEC’s Information Communication Technology Department housed the voter register in soft copy and would typically provide certified photocopies to RSIEC but lied that no such document had been handed over to the state election umpire.

“The Rivers REC even admitted that RSIEC has written to INEC about two times for the release of the register, but they have not released before they received from its headquarters an order from a Federal High Court restraining INEC from releasing the register. He buttressed that, ’till now, we have not officially handed over the Rivers State voter register to RSIEC. We have not.’

“Sinikiem further claimed he only received one court order from the INEC headquarters in Abuja, in compliance with the Federal High Court order, denying that he was unaware of a separate state high court order.

“According to him; ‘I have one from the Federal High Court from Abuja, which was sent to me by the headquarters, directing me to comply with the court order. I have not seen another court order from the state high court. It is administrative, it is not that we withheld it, but when the RSIEC requested, they had to come for the processes and that had not happened before we got the court order. We have not released the register.”

“His lies were however countered by the RSIEC Commissioner for Public Affairs and Civic Education, Tamunotonye Tobins said, ‘that is not true and INEC cannot in good conscience say that, because the correspondences between the two bodies are here. We have the documents here.

“The RSIEC Commissioner clearly said INEC has given them all that they needed for the election and they are proceeding with the election. ‘The 2023 updated register of voters for Rivers State is right now in our possession and we got it from INEC. This thing happened last year between July and October,” he said “By this action or actions, Sinikiem has to be removed as Rivers State REC because if he can do this in a local government election that INEC is not directly responsible, one wonders what will happen if he is to administer other elections within the purview of INEC.”