. PDP, Atiku, Secondus congratulate Wike on governorship victory
. Don’t rejoice yet, says APC
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been declared winner of the March 9 governorship election in the state after polling a total of 886,264 votes to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Biokpomabo Awara who garnered 173,859 votes.
The result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday meant that Wike who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), won by a margin of 712,405
Wike was in clear lead on April 2 when INEC resumed collation of Rivers Governorship results after polling 426,369 votes against 129,855 from 15 local government areas.
The lead was extended when the commission announced the remaining results from eight LGAs on Wednesday bringing Wike’s total vote to 886,264, while Awara had 173,859.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated Gov. Wike on his victory in the just-concluded governorship election in Rivers State.
The governor was declared winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday after a resumed collation of ballots of the poll held across the country on March 9.
Collation of the votes was suspended by INEC, which cited violence and other electoral irregularities during the election in the state, as reason for the action.
INEC declared that Wike won the election with 886,264 votes, while his opponent, Mr Biokpomabo Awara, of African Alliance Congress (AAC) trailed with 173,859 votes.
The PDP in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan,
described Wike’s re-election as “victory for the people of Rivers and triumph of good over evil.”
Ologbondiyan said that Wike’s record 700,000 votes margin of victory “speaks volume of the resilience of the people of the state in the face of intimidations, harassment and manipulations by oppressive forces”.
He said that the victory reinforced the confidence of the people in the resoluteness of asserting their democratic choice of leadership as well as standing in defence of their mandate to the end.
The party’s spokesman added that the victory also demonstrated that the will of the people would always prevail against every form of suppression.
He said that All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted to forcefully take over control of the state against the wish of the people.
“The party salutes and venerates all compatriots who were killed by agents of the oppressors during the election. These compatriots did not die in vain and those who shed their innocent blood will surely be
brought to book.
“The PDP commends Wike, the people of Rivers and all lovers of democracy across the board for standing firm until the end to hand this disgraceful defeat to the enemies of the people.”
Ologbondiyan also congratulated all PDP candidates, who won elections at all levels across the country.
He assured those pursuing their mandates at the tribunals that the party was fully behind them, “given that they all have water tight cases at the courts”.
On his part, the Presidential candidate of the party in the just concluded elections, Atiku Abubakar also congratulated Wike on his ‘well-deserved’ victory.
Abubakar wrote on his twitter handle @atiku: “Congratulations Governor Nyesom Wike. It gives me much pleasure to see a political force such as yourself, overcome the anti-democratic forces of dictatorship and oppression. I am sure you will continue the pattern of good works for which you have become renowned.
Similarly, the PDP National Chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, commended the resilience of party members across the country, particularly the elected ones, for extraordinary show of capacity to resist and withstand brutality, blatant intimidation, harassment and political terrorism.
In a statement issued by his Media Aide, Mr Ike Abonyi, the chairman said that PDP was proud of all its flag bearers and their conduct during and after the elections.
“By your peaceful conduct in the face of provocations, you have demonstrated truly that democracy is in your DNA and this we will continue to exhibit until all non-democrats pretending to be one are flushed out of our polity.”
Secondus said that the victorious PDP flag-bearers did not only contest with All Progressives Congress (APC), but with some INEC and military personnel allegedly compromised allegedly compromised.
He said that the introduction of inconclusive and suspension of polling in the country’s electoral process was ostensibly to aide APC to victory through supplementary balloting.
Secondus said that the APC, however, could not achieve it aim in Rivers, Bauchi, Adamawa, Sokoto and Benue because of the doggedness of committed democrats in the PDP.
He particularly commended PDP governors for their re-election which, according to him, revealed their overwhelming performances in the last four years in their various states.
“From 11 states when we started this journey in December, 2017 to 13 before the election and now, 15, with a very high hope of victory coming our way in five other states of Osun, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kano and Nasarawa.”
Secondus said that the strategic spread of the PDP victories spoke volume of the character and strength of the party as the only true national platform in the country.
But the APC in reacting to Gov Wike’s victory at the polls, said he should not yet rejoice prematurely, as according to the party, “this concocted INEC Results will not stand the test of time”.
In a statement circulated in Port Harcourt on Wednesday through a spokesperson, Chukwuemeka Eze, the APC noted that besides the fact that the results collated by the INEC had been grossly manipulated in favour of Governor Wike, to allegedly justify the huge bribe sum he had remitted to some senior officers of the commission to help him skew the processes to his favour, the unconstitutional suspension of the electoral process in the middle of a lawful exercise was already a ground for the nullification of the process.
Eze advised Governor Wike and the Senator representing the Rivers South-East senatorial district of Rivers state, Senator Magnus Abe, to stop celebrating prematurely as according to him, “the alleged concocted results in favour of PDP would eventually not sail, noting that the people of Rivers state spoke overwhelmingly against the reign of an administration, which had robbed of peace, security and development, the choice which would eventually be upheld in a properly held polls soon.”
Eze continued: “The ongoing declaration of concocted results of the highly corrupted general elections of March 9th is a high class entertainment exercise that has nothing to do with democracy in any form. However, if it has anything to do with democracy, then one will describe it as a charade, sham and promotion of impunity and undemocratic plot, aimed at rubbishing and subverting the electoral rights of Rivers state and her people, who voted massively for a better tomorrow by electing Engr. Biokpomabo Awara of African Action Congress (AAC)”.
Eze encouraged “Nigerians to disregard the results that are being dished by a confused INEC to justify their corrupt nature and deceive the public but the fact remains that INEC at this time around have caught themselves in a trap that will change the fate of democracy in Nigeria”.
He went further to state that “INEC having admitted in paragraph one of her 10th of March, Press Release that it has conducted elections on the 9th of March in Rivers State and based on this fact INEC must by virtue of section 27 of the Electoral Act, announce the results but they decided to postpone the already held elections which according to the law is ultra vires, illegal and unconstitutional”.
“This fact of unlawful decision by INEC will surely be challenged in court by virtue of section 26 subsection 5 of the Electoral Act which shall led to the suspension of the concocted results so far announced until the matter is determined so I sincerely sympathize with those celebrating an illegal process that will be thrown to the dustbin where it rightly belong”.
“The INEC are fully aware of the illegality of their action, but must see to its planned conclusion to justify the huge amount of money made available to them by the father Christmas outgoing Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike. If they have the moral grounds to continue collation of results in Rivers state, having waited for 3 weeks and for alleging in their suspension letter that their officials were abducted, so who was responsible for the collation of the results they claimed to have in their vault and currently announcing?
“The actions of INEC, particularly the activities of its Rivers REC, Obo Effanga, should not have surprised anybody as we have on several occasions alerted Nigerians that for INEC for no reason, have suspended the collation of results of the 9th March polls, when its benefactor was losing woefully, in order to embark on the alteration of the results. If not for the reason of altering these results in favour of Governor Nyesom Wike, how did INEC manufacture the 19 local government areas results it said that she presented to the world when it stated that the election was marred by violence.
“Apart from the unconstitutional declaration of results after the mandatory 21days as contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, coupled with the fact that INEC kept in her custody the result sheets of the Rivers state polls, against the Electoral Law that stipulates that election results should be kept in the custody of CBN, what INEC has succeeded to achieve in its present illegality is to justify the billions of naira that Governor Wike may have paid to some of her staff, knowing very well that this illegality will not stand the test of time.
“I am shocked that Governor Wike and Senator Abe are dancing naked over a result, which as lawyers they know that this exercise is one in futility as the election will not only be cancelled and repeated, but Wike will surely not be the Rivers state Governor in the next dispensation. So the celebration over an illegal excercise demonstrates the disdain that these two have for democracy and people of Rivers state”, Eze said.
Eze specially commended and congratulated an elder statesman, prominent Ijaw leader and vocal critique of rogue regimes in Rivers State, High Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe for not minting his age and risk to stand against Wike and Abe’s plot to subvert the will of Rivers State electorates. This fearless Ijaw Chief and outspoken critic of rogue regimes in Rivers State led a Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs to condemn INEC for forging unity with the government of Rivers State to deny the electorate their preferred choices in the disputed polls.
Eze who commended the Rivers State Governor women, elders and youths for coming out en-mass “to protest the plot to enslave them further for the next four years”, assuring them their protests and risks would not be in vain, adding “every democratic step would be taken to bring justice to Rivers state and her people, no matter the odds. So I sincerely appeal to all and sundry to be prayerful and allow God and judiciary to give us the justice we deserve”.
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