Issues
2015 Rivers Guber And Vindication Of The Supreme Court
I had the privilege of covering the legal dispute between the defeated Rivers APC Governorship Candidate, Mr Dakuku Peterside and Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike from the Election Tribunal through to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court experience was spiritual in nature. It was the manifestation of the best of the Nigerian Judiciary.
At stake that fateful January 27, 2016 were the rule of law, democracy and the right of the people to choose who would lead them. The eyes of the entire nation were on the Supreme Court. Every single Nigerian wanted to know if the Justices of the Supreme Court would stand up for democracy and the people.
Nigerians had every reason to be apprehensive. The APC Government became unreasonably desperate to illegally snatch Rivers State. Therefore, they adopted several unconstitutional methods to ensure that they got victory in the course of the judicial process.
For the first time in the history of electoral disputes, soldiers, DSS and mobile policemen were drafted by the Security High Command to assist the APC via false testimonies at the Election Tribunal.
This was the beginning of a well oiled onslaught to ensure the derailment of the Rivers people’s mandate. As such, soldiers, mobile policemen and DSS operatives who were nowhere near the polling units were used to pursue an agenda to miscarry justice.
To prove that this was a deliberate plot against Rivers State, when Governor Wike and PDP subpoenaed the security agents who directly provided security for the voting process, the Security High Command took illegal steps to arrest them at the venue of the Rivers State Election Tribunal.
From the very beginning, the Rivers APC knew they had no case against the duly elected Governor of Rivers State. Therefore, they relied on illegal means, propaganda and political incitement to sell their agenda to the unsuspecting public.
For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Wike got a state-wide mandate from the good people of Rivers State.
Governor Wike garnered N1,029,102 votes representing 87.77 per cent to emerge as winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship election. The defeated All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Mr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, came second with N124,896, while candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Prince Tonye Princewill, came third with N10,142 votes.
The good people of Rivers State made their preference, crystal clear. They wanted PDP. They preferred Governor Wike. Even though the APC had the constitutional right to challenge the victory in court, they had no case. For a party that claimed that no election took place, it was shocking that they had no voters as witnesses from polling units across the state to support their claim. Instead, they relied on security agents arranged by the APC national leadership to assist them in perverting the course of justice.
Counsel to Governor Wike, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) had this to say about the Rivers APC rigmarole.
“You can see that based on the evidence that they called, we had no reason whatsoever to bother to put in any witness. In a whole state, they called only three voters, in respect of which the decisions of the Supreme Court have always said that you must call one voter from every polling unit. There are 5972 polling units and points in Rivers State. They called only three voters and from three different local government areas for that matter. How could they ever dream to have started to prove their case?”
Governor Wike lost at the tribunal and the Appeal Court. The circumstances are well known to Nigerians. The conflicting judgments that emanated from these two courts in cases with similar facts are also well known. Needless to dwell on them at this point!
Suffice it to say that the Supreme Court brought to bear the tenets of the Constitution on the entire process. It stamped the authority of the law, declaring that the laws of the land must be followed, irrespective of the political circumstances in the country. The Supreme Court was consistent all through, applying the same legal principles on all governorship cases. There was no conflicting judgment.
Two set of major elections have been conducted in Rivers State since the Supreme Court’s confirmation of Governor Wike’s election. Despite the massive deployment of soldiers, policemen and other security agencies to help APC manipulate the March 19 and December 10, 2016 rerun elections, PDP emerged victorious.
The Rivers people staked their lives as security agencies shot at them. They insisted that they will stand by Governor Wike, their elected governor. They refused to be intimidated by guns and fighter helicopters.
The veracity of the Supreme Court judgment can be situated in the general acceptance of the PDP in the last two rerun elections. If the APC had emerged victorious, it would have been safe to declare that the party was cheated. However, the turn of events have vindicated the Supreme Court. It has shown that they delivered a just judgment.
The Supreme Court’s seven-man panel headed by the Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmood Mohammed with Justices Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed, Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-kun, Syvester Ngbuta , John Inyang Okoro and Amiru Sanusi as co-panelists deserve the respect and commendation of Nigerians for rising in defence of democracy and the Constitution. They exhibited rare courage by refusing to be intimidated.
According to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Emmanuel Aguma, the Supreme Court judgment stopped manipulative politicians from destroying the very fabric of the nation’s democracy.
He said: “What the judgment of the Supreme Court that affirmed the electoral victory of Governor Wike on the 27th of January, 2016, did was to take back from manipulative politicians, their nefarious powers and affirm that through the judicial system, people can actually get justice, because both the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the tribunal in that particular case , which I followed were to say the least, perverse and were devoid of any legal principles. They upturned existing principles on their head.
Another lawyer, Emma Okah had this to say of the 2016 Supreme Court on Rivers State Governorship Election: “And today, we can only say thank you to the Supreme Court, thank you for the judicial arm of government, thank you for saving Nigeria and thank you again for restoring confidence in our judicial system”.
According to Shedrach Akolokwu; “by that decision of the Supreme Court, sovereignty belongs to the people. No one man can claim to be the coastline of sovereignty in a democracy. Democracy acknowledges the people as custodians of sovereignty.
“The judgement of the Supreme Court on the 27th of January, 2016 was a milestone decision which showed that democracy is superior to any other system of government and that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as variously amended acknowledged that all public institutions, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive should acknowledge, should realize that the people have the final say in whatever concerns them.”
Barrister George Ariolu said: “To tell you that the judgement was apt, you could see the jubilation the day that judgement was pronounced. There was jubilation all over. If it were to be an aberration, you would have also seen the reaction. So, that is to tell you, that the Supreme Court in course of carrying her duty, did what was right and then the people in turn rejoiced because they confirmed their mandate to who they gave it.”
Today more than ever, Nigeria needs a fearless judiciary to survive the persecution and fraudulent attack at the soul of democracy by the APC. The validation of Governor Wike’s election was the beginning of the struggle to save Nigeria from shameless political robbers.
The anniversary of this judgment is a wake up call to all Nigerians to take back their country from political criminals masquerading as change agents. The January 27, 2016 judgment is a statement reminding Nigerians that they cannot stand aloof and allow societal cheats deep in crime deliberately rape all our revered institutions to death. We must urgently take back governance to rebuild our judiciary, legislature, police, Army, DSS, Navy and other state institutions bastardised by the APC for selfish reasons.
Rivers State has taken the lead. They withstood the terror of the Federal Forces in defence of democracy. They stood up to the bully. They rejected all forms of manipulations and protected their mandate. Other Nigerians must emulate this virtue and take back Nigeria.
It is no longer fashionable to keep quiet while the devastation of this country and her institutions continue. That judgement of January 27, 2016 reinforced the need for a virile and independent judiciary.
As Rivers people and other well-meaning Nigerians celebrate the judgement of the Supreme Court that affirmed the electoral victory of Governor Wike, we must stand up to defend democracy, which the forces of evil seek to destroy. It is only by defending democracy that we would have successfully vindicated the Supreme Court.
Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike on Electronic Media.
Simeon Nwakaudu
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
