*Defends Tinubu’s Legal Authority To Modify Electoral Act For Rivers LG Polls
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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s actions regarding the upcoming local government elections in Rivers State.
Speaking during a media chat on Monday monitored in Abuja, Wike argued that the President’s decision to modify the Electoral Act is legally sound, citing a precedent set by the Emergency Act of 1961 and its subsequent modifications.
The former Rivers State governor criticized what he called “television advocates,” referring to those who offer legal opinions without engaging in actual courtroom litigation.
He cited a past Supreme Court judgment—secured by his legal team—as proof that the law is shaped through judicial advocacy, not public commentary.
Wike provided a detailed legal justification for President Tinubu’s actions, tracing the authority back to colonial-era legislation. He explained that the Emergency Act of 1961, particularly Section 3, granted the Governor-General and later, the President the powers to suspend or modify certain laws during a state of emergency.
He noted that in 2004, President Olusegun Obasanjo created a modification law that retained these powers, allowing the President to issue regulations to guide governance in emergency areas.
According to Wike, President Tinubu built on this precedent by issuing regulations to facilitate the conduct of local government elections in Rivers State. He said the President’s regulations were designed to “suspend or modify the application of the Electoral Act of 2022” as well as relevant state laws governing independent electoral commissions and election tribunals.
This move, Wike explained, was aimed at enabling elections to be held within a 90-day period and restoring democratic structures at the local government level, which had been disrupted by a Supreme Court ruling.
He further explained that a previous Supreme Court judgment had barred local governments from accessing funds and prohibited governors from appointing caretaker committees. President Tinubu’s regulations, Wike noted, effectively set aside that judgment, allowing local governments to regain access to essential funds.
According to Wike, the President issued a new regulation in July mandating that elections be conducted within 30 days. He described this as a strategic step to restore peace and democratic governance without prolonging the state of emergency—an action Wike said would have been unpopular with the public.
Without these legal modifications, Wike warned, local governments would remain unable to access funds, deepening the crisis at the grassroots level.
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