Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is a product of the most significant trinity in our political history. He was voted by the people, ordained by God and confirmed by the Supreme Court. He is a man of destiny, set apart by God to deliver Rivers State from an evil power centre, only greedy for the resources of the state without any commitment to the welfare of the people.
That Governor Wike is the most popular politician and statesman from Rivers State is no longer in doubt. Even his worst enemies agree that he has a link with the people, who love him for his pro-people politics and programmes.
The confirmation of Governor Wike’s election has completed a renowned trinity of sorts in the face of unnecessary and baseless propaganda engineered by the Rivers State APC, using ill-gotten funds acquired from the state coffers. These unpopular politicians used the media to create the impression that the governorship election was marred by violence and irregularities. In Court, they tendered no evidence to prove their outlandish allegations.
For a political party that claimed that the governorship election did not hold in the state, it was shocking that the Rivers State APC called only three voters to prove that elections were marred by irregularities in 4442 polling units spread across 23 LGAS. Of these three voters, only one claimed he was disenfranchised. The Supreme Court has been consistent in insisting that you can only prove electoral fraud on a polling unit by polling unit basis. Proving electoral fraud is not an issue of propaganda and political blackmail.
The Supreme Court Seven-Man Panel headed by the 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 enthroned the Supremacy of Law over the conflicting opinions of the lower courts.
Apart from this obvious lacuna in its case, the Rivers State APC all through relied on the card reader report which only reflected accreditation via card reader without mentioning accreditation via the manual process as recognised by the Electoral Act. Expectedly, this failed them as the Supreme Court had on several occasions made its position known on the legal process of accreditation recognised by law.
It was shocking that the Rivers APC thought it could rubbish the mandate of the Rivers people by relying on documentary hearsay as exemplified by the report by the INEC staff it directly subpoenaed who visited a few local government areas, but reported on the whole election, though he was never a direct participant in the conduct of the election at the polling station.
Aside the media drama sponsored by the Rivers APC, there was nothing before any of the courts to prove the stories they published about the election.
There is a need to recall that the Court of Appeal struck out over 100 paragraphs of the Rivers State APC petition wherein the party made wild allegations against named and unnamed security personnel who participated in the election. Despite this fatal blow to the petition, the Tribunal and the same Appeal Court relied on these security agents to reach their perverse judgments . These security agents had in open court admitted that they were not participants at the respective polling units and therefore only heard their testimonies from other interested parties.
Nigerians will further recall that at the middle of the sitting of the tribunal for inexplicable reasons the first chairman, Justice Pindiga was removed and replaced with Justice Suleiman Ambrosa. Justice Ambrosa went ahead to deliver rulings for applications that he did not have the privilege of hearing. He merely fulfilled all righteousness, but failed to do justice according to the law.
The Supreme Court has reinstated the confidence of Nigerians in the Judicial process by interpreting the law in line with the tenets governing the elections. They have confirmed what all the people of Rivers State knew as far back as April , 2015 when INEC declared Governor Wike the winner of the Rivers State Governorship election.
There has never been APC in Rivers State. Those who pretend to be APC leaders are not on ground in Rivers State. They are more at home in Lagos and Abuja, where their media associates build political castles in the air for them.
While Governor Wike campaigned in all the wards of Rivers State before the April 11 and 12, 2015 Governorship Election, the Rivers State APC wallowed in propaganda, having photo sessions in studios, thus neglecting the people.
Beyond the issue of Wike’s mass popularity is the fact that the leadership of the Rivers State APC raped and battered the state for eight years . These officials under the tutelage of immediate past Governor Rotimi Amaechi squandered N3trillion in the worst financial disaster ever to hit any state of the Federation. After eight years of failure, the people of the state looked for a disciplined, compassionate and focused leader. They settled for Governor Wike who broke the riverine/upland dichotomy.
The confirmation of Governor Wike’s election will further enhance the ongoing development process already entrenched in the state. With the conclusion of the legal challenge to the people’s mandate, the Governor will consolidate on the gains of his superlative performance.
The calm and jubilant acceptance of the judgment across the 23 LGAS of Rivers State is a further proof that external forces can never shake the resolve of the people to stand by Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the very best in this dispensation. Intimidation and other techniques have failed as the will of God and the preference of the people have been enthroned.
Since May 29, 2015, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike played host to several men of God from different denominations of the Christian faith and leaders of other religious persuasions. Like the people of Rivers State, all the religious leaders, hearing from God, declared that Wike was ordained by God for a time as this. The Rivers APC in several statements and releases made mockery of Governor Wike’s association with the clergy, claiming that 1000 high profile Preachers would not save him from their devilish onslaught. As they say, the rest is now history. The horse and its rider have been thrown into the sea by God. Rivers State is set apart by God for this trying phase in the history of Nigeria and it will always weather the storm of manipulations in high places.
It is necessary to highlight the issue of the appellation of ‘caretaker governor ‘ introduced in our political lexicon by Rivers State APC whilst the legal tussle lasted. I find this interpretation by the Rivers State APC quite interesting and thought provoking. Though, in concert with their ever pliant media associates, the Rivers State APC sought to malign Governor Wike with the ‘caretaker governor’ description, they inadvertently aptly described him.
Governor Wike was voted into office by the good people of Rivers State for his political, managerial and administrative skills of taking care of people. Like the traditional caretaker, Governor Wike is not the landlord since the people of Rivers State collectively own the state. He was only elected because the people found him worthy to effectively take care of the state. This caretaker governor will continue to develop Rivers State as that is what the people asked him to do.
It is about Rivers State. It has nothing to do with PDP or APC. It is about the preservation of the ideals of the state and the promotion of her dignity and interests. Nobody would be allowed to rubbish the state on the altar of servitude and financial greed.
In his state broadcast titled “To God be the Glory” after the judgment of the Supreme Court, Governor Wike praised God for the feat, commended the Judiciary for its independence and commitment to the rule of law and extended a hand of brotherly fellowship to the leadership of the Rivers APC and her governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside in the quest to develop the state.
He assured the people of the state of his determination to continue with the massive development of the state as he has done in the past eight months despite the distractions of the legal tussle.
He said : “The New Rivers Vision seeks a balanced development and enhanced quality of life for the present and future generations through responsive governance guided by the fear of God. I assure them that no one will be excluded from the governance process because, working together, we will certainly achieve more.
“We thank the Almighty God for His Grace. For without Him, we are nothing and we could have done or achieved nothing.
“As children of God, we pledge to continue to run a just and equitable administration that will hopefully lead to greater development for our State and the happiness of the greatest number of our people.”
It is imperative to conclude that the Supreme Court by its well considered judgment in the Rivers State Governorship election tussle has returned power back to the people of Rivers State.
The implication is simple : Never again will a bunch of political misfits and charlatans think that they can wrest power from the people via the use of deadly propaganda, fictional testimonies in court and anti -people conspiracies in high places.
The judgment statement is unambiguous. Election can only be won at the polling unit, not through illegal means contrived in the homes of political armed robbers who deride their people every step of the way. Most importantly, Rivers State is NEW.
***Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Electronic Media.
