Issues
Mr Odigie-Oyegun: The Supreme Court Was Right On Rivers State
It is no longer news that
the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr John Odigie-Oyegun publicly lamented the loss of Rivers State by his party at the Supreme Court . The APC National Chairman went ahead to impugn the integrity of the Apex Court, questioning the rationale for the landmark decision that reinstated the confidence Nigerians have in the judiciary.
Like every other Nigerian, I cannot pretend not to know why Mr John Odigie-Oyegun is shedding tears profusely. The APC Chieftain explained it himself. It’s all about the money. The resources of Rivers State.
Hear Odigie-Oyegun : “We have lost very important resource-rich state to the PDP.
No matter how crude oil prices have fallen, it is still the most important revenue earner for the country.”
He was shocked that the Supreme Court chose to uphold the Rule of Law in the election petition filed by the Rivers APC rather than dance to the tunes of propaganda and falsehood circulated by the party. For Rivers State, the truth prevailed and the will of the good people of the state affirmed by the judicial process.
Though Mr Odigie-Oyegun is older than myself, I have a duty to place the records before him. I believe that his guests misled him with lies, hence, his unfounded conclusion on the Rivers State Governorship Election.
There were two key issues formulated by the Rivers APC in their petition against the election of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike. First, the Rivers State APC complained of over-voting, claiming that the number of votes returned by INEC were in excess of the number of those accredited via card readers. Secondly, the Rivers APC alleged that the governorship election was marred by violence across the 4,442 polling units of the state.
Mr APC National Chairman, with due respect, your party members failed to prove these two allegations. They merely relied on documentary hearsay and human hearsay.
The issue of accreditation for elections in Nigeria is clearly spelt out in the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. Section 49 (1 & 2) are unambiguous. I recommend it to Mr John Odigie-Oyegun. They read”, A person intending to vote with his voter’s card, shall present himself to a Presiding Officer at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered with his voter’s card.”The presiding officer shall on being satisfied that the name of the person is on the register of voters, issue him a ballot paper and indicate on the register that the person has voted”.
Therefore, the critical factor in an accreditation process is the voter register.
The INEC guideline which introduced the card reader was only meant to assist the accreditation process. In Rivers State, both card reader and manual accreditation took place like other states.
At the tribunal, the Rivers State PDP tendered the incident forms used for the manual accreditation and all the voters registers used for the 4442 polling units in the state. The Rivers APC restricted themselves to the card reader accreditation process. In the Lagos State Governorship Election Dispute between Jimi Agbaje (PDP) and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (APC), the Appeal Court held that the card reader cannot have a life of its own. Indeed, at the Supreme Court on January 27, it was duly established during the adoption of briefs that the INEC guideline cannot be superior to the Electoral Act.
At the Appeal Court, Lagos Division, resolving the card reader issue in APC’s favour, Justice Festus Ogbunya held: “The paragraph (13b) displays a vitriolic attack on the irregularities germinating from the improper or non-use of the smart card readers in the polling units.
“As it is, it has no life of its own as a ground. It endeavours to introduce the defects in the use of smart card readers. The evolution of the concept of smart card reader is a familiar one. It came to being during the last general election. On this score, it is a nascent procedure injected into our infant and fledgling electoral system to ensure credible and transparent election.
“The extant Electoral Act (2010) which predates the concept (of card reader) is not its parent or progenitor. Since it is not the progeny of the Electoral Act, fronting it as a ground to challenge any election does not have its (the Electoral Act’s) blessing, nay Section 138 (1) of it.
“Put simply, a petitioner cannot project the non-presence or improper use of smart card reader as a ground for questioning an election. It does not qualify as one”.
I know that Mr John Odigie-Oyegun would understand the above.
On the issue of several wild allegations of violence by the defeated Rivers State APC, they made no serious attempt to prove this at the courts. They swam in falsehood, propaganda and self deceit. Mr APC National Chairman, your party members made no attempt to call relevant witnesses to prove their allegations.
Out of the 4442 polling units in the state, your party members called only three voters. Of these three voters only one claimed that violence disrupted voting in his unit. Mr APC National Chairman would you have in all honesty nullified an election just on the basis of one polling unit out of 4442 polling units? The Supreme Court refused to be deceived by lies and propaganda.
Section 53 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended stipulates how to prove over voting. It is strictly on a polling unit by polling unit basis.
It reads: “Where the votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceed the number of registered voters in that polling unit, the result of the election in that polling unit shall be declared void by the Commission and another election may be conducted at a date to be fixed by the Commission where the result at that polling unit may affect the overall result in the constituency”.
Deciding the election petition filed by Senator Ucha against the election of former Governor Elechi of Ebonyi State in 2012, the Supreme Court declared: “The results declared by INEC are prima facie correct and the onus is on the petitioner to prove the contrary. Where a petitioner complains of non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), he has a duty to prove it polling unit by polling unit, ward by ward and the standard of proof is on the balance of probabilities and not on minimal proof. He must show figures that the adverse party was credited with as a result of the non-compliance, Forms EC8A, election materials not stamped/signed by Presiding Officers. He must establish that non-compliance was substantial, that it affected the election result”.
Barrister Kenneth Ikonne noted : “The principles relating to the proof of Over-voting, especially in relation to the indispensability of the voters register, weren’t set today; that aspect of our jurisprudence has long been settled.
Petitioners hinging their allegation of overvoting on disparities in the card reader accreditation data, and withholding the voters registers, were just being clever by half. They knew the registers would not bear out such allegations, and that was why they withheld them. A technology as erratic as the card reader cannot, for now, be the measure by which to test whether an election was conducted substantially in accordance with the law. Were it to be, not even one single election conducted with the card reader will pass the test of judicial scrutiny, including the presidential election where 2 million votes were cast in Kano, but where the card reader successfully read less than 400,000 voters cards. Who knows whether the card reader even successfully read the Chief Justice of Nigeria, since it was irreverent enough not to successfully read even former President Jonathan and his wife?”
I understand that the APC and her members are disappointed that their falsehood and propaganda have failed. But my candid advice to Mr APC National Chairman is for him to respect the judgment of the Supreme Court despite his pecuniary interest in Rivers State.
For the Rivers APC members, Governor Wike is a governor for all. He has extended his hand of friendship to them for the communal development of Rivers State.
Under the leadership of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, there will be no orphans in the state. Nobody will be left out in the cold. There is no need for anyone to fear.
Governor Wike will continue to lead a state where the will of the people will continue to prevail. Therefore, those in Abuja begging for security and electoral infrastructure to rig the forthcoming legislative rerun elections should think again. Rivers State belongs to the people and nobody will send political armed robbers to come to the state to rob the people of their mandate.
Like Governor Wike said when he addressed civil servants, anyone who plans to rig elections in the State will be treated as an armed robber. Nigerians can now understand the governor’s message.
My last word to Mr John Odigie-Oyegun: the Supreme Court delivered judgments on several states and it applied same principles. Why must Mr APC National Chairman cry when the Rivers people are celebrating the judgment? This nefarious plot to financially rape Rivers State perpetually was why the Rivers people completely rejected the APC.
Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media
Simeon Nwakaudu
Governor Nyesom Wike
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
