Nigeria sliding – PDP
We’ll take over Rivers, A’Ibom – Oyegun
By Chizoba Ogbeche, Emeka Eze and Bode Olagoke, Abuja
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, yesterday upheld the judgment of the Rivers state governorship election tribunal sacking the state governor, Nyesom Wike.
The court in its ruling, said Wike, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship elections was not validly elected.
But the governor is insisting on proceeding to the Supreme Court where he hopes to get ‘justice’.
The tribunal had in its ruling on October 24 nullified Governor Wike’s election, and also ordered that a fresh governorship election be conducted in the state. Dissatisfied with the ruling, Wike moved to the appellate court which yesterday ruled that the tribunal was in order to have sacked him.
The Court in a 110-page ruling delivered by Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, ordered that Wike’s election did not conform to the Electoral Act and ordered a rerun in 90 days.
In the final ruling, the appellate court ruled in favour of the APC candidate, Peterside on all seven issues raised by Wike.
In his reaction, the governor said he was still going to the Apex Court to test the validity of the latest judgement, and directed his legal team to act in that regard.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, the governor faulted the judgement and vowed to exhaust his constitutional rights by challenging the judgment at the highest court in the land.
Wike appealed to all his supporters and the people of Rivers State to remain calm, expressing confidence that justice would be done at the end.
He also expressed his readiness to use all constitutional processes to protect the mandate freely given him by people of the state.
Wike said despite the judgement, he still remained governor of the state, and assured that all ongoing development projects would continue while his administration would not relent in promoting the security of lives and property across the state.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described the ruling and similar others as a fallout of the alleged muzzling of the judiciary by President Muhammadu Buhari.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh who stated this in s statement in Abuja yesterday said: “Today’s the Court of Appeal rulings against Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and our federal legislators are clear fall-out of President Buhari-led government’s muzzling of a section of the judiciary, a development that portends grave danger to our democracy and the much-desired peace and stability in the volatile region of the Niger Delta, especially coming on the heels of APC induced violence that led to the inconclusiveness of the Bayelsa state governorship election.”
“Also embarrassing to democracy is the flouting of judicial pronouncements, the growing erosion of personal freedom, violation of fundamental rights of citizens and brutal manhandling of suspects facing various trials, as amply evidenced by the case of the former Director- General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, who, while on bail was openly beaten by security operatives.
“We note that these developments are in direct contrast to democratic environment created by the PDP in the last 16 years where the rule of law and freedom of citizens were allowed to reign. Of utmost concern is the unprecedented and frightening polarization of the country coming as direct consequence of the undemocratic tendencies of the Buhari administration. In the last seven months of this dictatorial and divisive regime, there has been an alarming escalation of inter-and intra religious and ethnic hostilities that clearly threaten national cohesion and stability.
“We therefore caution this government to come to terms with the fact that this nation cannot afford to contain, at this time, undue and avoidable pressure coming ceaselessly from its totalitarian tendencies and actions,” the party stated.
On the anti-corruption drive of the administration, he said President Buhari’s denial of being a beneficiary of the arms deal funds underscores the need for an independent National Truth Commission to examine all issues relating to the handling of security votes and campaign funding without interference from the government.
According to him, Nigeria, under Buhari, “is gradually sliding into a police state with observed totalitarian and bloodthirsty tendencies by obviously compromised security operatives for which the citizens now live in fear.”
The party further said: “The leak that President Buhari benefited from the office of the former National Security Adviser against the convention of dealing with the office of the SGF also stresses the fact that the war against corruption should be holistic, transparent and not politicized.”
“We challenge this administration to a no-holds-barred public inquisition on all issues of security votes and campaign expenses. This is more so as we have evidence that President Buhari and the APC budgeted and spent billions of naira corruptly sourced for their Presidential campaign, in addition to on-going sleazes in the system under the APC government.”
The PDP further said: “This current orchestrated and selective war against corruption should not be an excuse to justify the onslaught by the government against democratic institutions, especially the judiciary, wherein judicial officers are now being hounded and coerced in the desperation to take over key PDP states of Akwa-Ibom, Taraba and Rivers.
Metuh specifically wondered how the government can explain its indifference to the recent senseless bloodletting in Zaria, Kaduna state where the military clashed with an Islamic group resulting in loss of lives, as well as the mindless attack and killing of some unarmed protesters in Onitsha, Anambra state by security agents.
Meanwhile, the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has said that his party is determined to take over the Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states in the South-south region of the country, saying the party’s success at the last general elections had changed the political dynamics in the region.
He also expressed confidence in the party’s chances in the Akwa-Ibom governorship re-run.
The APC leader spoke in Abuja when he received a delegation of the NADECO-forum and Pro-democracy groups in the United Kingdom (1992-1999) led by Chief John Filani, at the the party secretariat.
Oyegun said: “With respect to Rivers and Akwa-Ibom, I want to tell you that we are strongly determined and there is hardly any doubt. The former governor of Akwa-Ibom’s motto was ‘what money cannot solve, more money can solve it. I think that this has been very much at work but I have no doubt in my mind, factions or no factions, that is irrelevant.
“I have stuck my neck out for Umana Umana because looking at all those who wanted that office, he was the only one who has the grits and the guts to take on the very murderous situation that existed in Akwa-Ibom state and if you ask me, I am more confident of winning Akwa-Ibom than any other state in the South-South. We are going to win, that is almost a certainty.”