Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has declared that he remains the state governor, noting that he would pursue the decision of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, which nullified the April 11, 2015 governorship election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh election within 90 days, up to the Supreme Court.
This came on the heels of the judgment of the tribunal headed by Justice Suleiman Ambrosa, which upturned the election citing irregularities and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja had, on Saturday, nullified the April 11, 2015 that produced Wike as governor of Rivers State, citing irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The three-member panel of Justices, headed by Justice Ambrosa, which heard the petition filed by the APC and its governorship candidate in Rivers State, Peterside, ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election within 90 days.
The tribunal held that Wike was wrongly declared winner by INEC and that the elections failed to comply substantially with the electoral guidelines, noting that the petitioners (APC and Dakuku) were able to establish that there was no compliance with the Electoral Act, adding that the plaintiffs were also able to establish that there was intimidation, harassment, snatching of ballot boxes, ballot papers and lack of result sheets and late arrival of election materials.
It also agreed with the petitioners that there were cases of diversion of election materials, ballot box stuffing, allocation of figures, non-collation of result and failure to use card readers, noting that all these made mockery of democracy.
Justice Ambrosa also added that the APC and its governorship candidate adduced credible evidence and documents to prove all the allegations against Wike’s election, noting that the witnesses called by the respondents in the petition became unreliable during cross-examination, saying “they betrayed their character.
“Even officials of INEC who came as witnesses, at a point, claimed ignorance of their own document,” the tribunal held.
In the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Ambrosa, the tribunal held that Wike was not validly elected as governor of Rivers State and ordered INEC to conduct fresh election within 90 days.
Reacting to the judgment, however, PDP’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) said, “we will test the popularity of the judgment in the Court of Appeal and possibly the Supreme Court”.
Uche said it was wrong for the tribunal to have heavy weather on the use of card reader when INEC itself admitted that both card readers and manual process could be used where there are challenges.
He also faulted the judgment on the ground that it was delivered less than 48 hours after parties in the petition adopted their written addresses.
It will be recalled that INEC declared Wike winner of the April 11 election with 1,029,102 votes as against Peterside’s 124,896 and the petitioners, not satisfied with the conduct of the election, filed a petition on May 3, seeking the nullification of the election in the entire 23 local government areas of the state and an order for a fresh election on the account of alleged substantial non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act and Manual for Election Officers 2015.
But Wike, while addressing a mammoth crowd of his supporters and party faithful who had gathered at the Port Harcourt International Airport to welcome him on return from Abuja, on Saturday evening, thanked the party leadership and its supporters for their steadfastness, saying that by his training as a legal practitioner, he would not criticise the opinion of the tribunal’s judge.
“So, what I can say is that the tribunal has given their own verdict, but we know that by the special grace of God, that is not the verdict of God. Nobody can take your mandate.
“All the gang-ups in Abuja is against Rivers State. But we must protect the interest of this state. If they like, let them use all the powers they have, but their power cannot be superior than God’s power.
“I want to urge you to be calm and be peaceful. I am still the governor of Rivers State. Our lawyers are going on appeal; there is also the Supreme Court. We believe that we have a good case.
“I have never seen where a lower court will overrule a superior court like the Court of Appeal. In Lagos State, PDP went to court with our governorship candidate and one of the grounds they went to court was the issue of card reader.
“When the matter went to the Court of Appeal, the court said the issue of card reader had no place in our Electoral Act. But today, I have heard that the card reader is part of our Electoral Act, as far as own election tribunal is concerned. Like I said, there is no cause for alarm.
“Again, you are aware that Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party were in the same tribunal. The same tribunal ruled that they did not give 21 days notice to INEC and therefore, they are not qualified to come to the tribunal.
“We also said that in the case of APC that they are not qualified to be at the tribunal. The same tribunal said a different thing.
“When SDP and Labour Party went to the Court of Appeal, the court upheld that the 21-day notice was mandatory. But as far as this tribunal is concerned, they are not bothered about it. But like I said, that is their own view.
“I don’t want to say anything beyond that. They can say anything, but Rivers people’s interest must be protected. Nobody will intimidate me to abandon this state. If they like, let them summon the justices as they have been doing, but, one day, God’s own judgment will prevail”, he said.
Also reacting, the state chapter of PDP alleged that members of the tribunal were compromised in coming up with their verdict on the disputed election, but however reassured Wike remained the state governor.
Describing the judgment as travesty of justice and a rape on democracy, the party chairman, Mr Felix Obuah, said the alleged conspiracy and falsehood by the APC-led Federal Government against Rivers people would amount to nullity at the end.
He alleged that the decision had been taken long before the written addresses by both parties were adopted on Thursday and “said this is one tribunal judgment that will never stand.
“There is no other reason why the tribunal hurriedly delivered the contraption it called judgment in less than 24 hours after adopting the written addresses on a matter that lasted over four months than to pre-empt the judgment of the Supreme Court against the tribunal by PDP, which comes up next week Tuesday.
“There is no problem; everybody should remain calm. As a matter of fact, we are going to appeal. Things will be okay and you can see our people are jubilating; nothing happened. That is man’s judgment; God’s judgment is the final..
“In case of the matter getting up to the Supreme Court, we are ever ready any day, any time. I have said it times without number that Rivers State is a PDP state. Come rain, come shine, we are not disturbed. But I am telling you that God’s judgment will surpass whatever they have done today (Saturday)”, he said.
In his own reaction, special adviser to Governor Wike on media and publicity, Sir Opunabo Inko-Tariah, said the verdict was a miscarriage of justice, alleging that the tribunal panelists only acted according to instruction.
“The tribunal has done its bit; the tribunal panelists have done what they were asked to do. Definitely, Governor Wike will go on appeal and I know that, at the end of the day, sagacity will prevail.
“I cannot comprehend the situation where you just rely on three witnesses from APC and discard the testimonies of hundreds of people from PDP. How do you reconcile that logic? That is why I said the tribunal had done what it was asked to do”, he said.
Reacting, however, chairman of the state chapter of APC, Dr Davies Ikanya, said the party had been vindicated by the judgment, insisting that the election the election that produced Wike as a governor was a sham.
The party, in a statement, said, “we have been vindicated in our persistent claim that the election in Rivers State was a sham and that INEC erred in declaring Wike governor. We repeat that there is no way under the heavens that Chief Wike can beat our candidate, Dr Dakuku Peterside, in a free and fair election.
“Though, we were expecting total ban of Chief Wike from further participating in the politics of Nigeria, seeing the orchestration of the deaths of Rivers State people in order for him to be installed as a caretaker governor.
“All the same, we thank the Justice Ambrusa-led tribunal for restoring hope to the downtrodden people of Rivers State who have borne the brunt of Wike’s illegal and visionless administration in the past five months.
Also reacting, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the last April election, Prince Tonye Princewill, said there was no need for Wike to appeal the verdict.
“I have just received the news of the cancellation of the Rivers State Governorship election. Even as it may have come as a surprise to many neutral observers, it was no surprise to me, my supporters and many Rivers people who came out on that fateful day to try and cast their vote.
Even PDP supporters, I’m sure in their heart of hearts, knew that this day would come. Like I said to my supporters on that Election Day, justice will prevail and the truth of this day will come out. If the APC legal team could not prove that there was no election in Rivers state, nobody could. It was that obvious”, he said.
