Monday, October 7, 2024 -The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday rejected the conduct and outcome of the local government election, stating that no election was held in the state on Saturday.
The Rivers PDP, which is loyal to the
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, denounced the poll as a
futile exercise and promised to fight it in court.
The Wike camp made this statement when
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara swore in the newly elected council
chairmen of the state’s 23 local government areas.
The exercise was done on Sunday at the
Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state
capital, hours after Adolphus Enebeli, Chairman of the Rivers State Independent
Electoral Commission, gave certificates of return to the chairmen.
The Action Peoples Party won the Saturday
council election, which was plagued by explosions and violence, with 22 of the
23 chairperson positions, while the Action Alliance candidate gained one seat.
The APP also won 314 of the 319
councillorship seats in the state’s 23 local government areas. The experiment
was hampered by Fubara’s ongoing power battle with his predecessor, Wike.
After losing control of the PDP to Wike,
Fubara’s supporters defected to the APP, gaining chairmanships in respective
local government districts.
Hours after the election winners were sworn
in, Kenneth Yowika, the PDP’s state publicity secretary, told reporters that
the party would challenge the poll’s conduct in court.
‘’We are pressing further through the courts
to ensure that justice is done and seen to have been done. So, we do not agree
nor do we recognise if any swearing-in is taking place today (Sunday) or
tomorrow (Monday),” he asserted.
Yowika stated that from the beginning, the
ruling party in the state had insisted on the Federal High Court judgement
barring the conduct of the council poll, pointing out that what the state
government did was illegal.
Yowika said, “First of all, everything
concerning that issue is illegal. We have said it clearly that elections should
not be held, you know, relying on the Federal High Court judgement delivered by
Justice Peter Lifu.
“And I had said before this time that any
action taken regarding the issue of the local government will be futile because
if we say we are a country that stands by the rule of law, then we should not
be doing things that are contrary to the law.
“The law had said do things that will be in
line with the judgement of the Federal High Court, and the government of the
day has not obeyed that.
“So, we are a law-abiding party. We are not
going to come out physically to begin to fight. We had a protest yesterday
(Saturday), clearly showing that there was no election.
“And we stand by that decision that we have
taken that there was no election, and we wait for the judiciary and other arms
of government that should put things in proper perspective to act. We continue
to hold on that there was no election.”
Continuing, he said, “We visited the Rivers
State Independent Electoral Commission yesterday, and clearly, the world saw
that there was no election there. So, we stand by the ruling of the Federal
High Court, which said that that election should not go on.
“Well, they went ahead to do whatever
charade people saw, and that is not acceptable by the People’s Democratic
Party. Like we said, we are a law-abiding party, and we stand to remain that.”
Similarly, Chibuike Ikenga, Publicity
Secretary of the Chief Tony Okocha-led APC, insisted on the Federal High Court
judgement, which restrained the state government from conducting the poll.
Ikenga also said the swearing-in of the
election winners ‘is neither here nor there,’ saying the party is pressing
further through with the law.
“As a party, we insist on obeying the
decisions of the Federal High Court under Justice Peter Lifu. And that is the
reason why we did not acknowledge that any election ever took place. But the
government is known for disobedience of court orders that went ahead. So, they
are on their own.
“Our position is that you cannot put
something on nothing and expect it to stand. So, whether anybody has been sworn
in or not is secondary; we are not aware, and we are not interested in whether
it is taking place today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday).
“We are pressing further through the courts
to ensure that justice is done and seen to have been done. So, we do not agree,
nor do we recognise if any swearing-in is taking place today or tomorrow,’’ he
stated.
Speaking on whether the party will return to
the court based on the latest developments, he said, ‘’The state government
already took the matter to the Court of Appeal, where they asked for a stay,
and the stay was refused. So, the matter is on at the Court of Appeal.”
However, the APC faithful to former Minister
of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi expressed delight with the election results
and stated that they will not fight them.
Chizi Enyi, the Chief of Staff to APC
Chairman Emeka Beke, stated that the party did not lose out because it gained a
councillor position.
“The APC won the council slot. We are
satisfied with the election held. Our biggest worry was those who said the
election should not be held. So, we accept the outcome, and we will not
litigate it,” he said.
Sydney Gbara, the Rivers State Commissioner
for Environment and immediate past Publicity Secretary of the PDP, was likewise
pleased with the election, characterising it as the most free and fair in the
state’s history.
Gbara said, “Yes, I’m very satisfied, and I
can tell you that this is the freest, fairest, and most peaceful election that
has been conducted in Rivers State so far. The most striking thing about the
election is that there was no police security yet everywhere was peaceful. That
is the most interesting thing about the election.
“This is the best election that Rivers
people came all out to participate in because they know that their future
depends on yesterday’s election.”
When asked why he was so delighted despite
the fact that his party did not win a single spot, he stated that the state’s
interests come first.
Gbara stated, “It is unfortunate that my
party withdrew from the contest, but as a Rivers man, the interest of the state
supersedes any other interest, any personal, individual, or group interest.
“For me, it is a step of liberation for
the Rivers people, and it is a day we have all been waiting for.”
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