Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the outcome of the litigation on the Rivers East Senatorial District seat “has opened our eyes ahead of 2019.”
Wike also lampooned the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying they applaud the judiciary only when they win cases but launch campaigns of calumny against them if judgment goes to other candidates.
He noted that the outcome of the case has confirmed the alarm he raised ahead of the rerun election that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Police were in partnership to rig elections in the state.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had last Thursday upheld the judgment of the Rivers State National and State Elections Petitions Tribunal, which sacked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator representing Rivers East in the Senate, George Sekibo.
The tribunal had in its judgment delivered on June 29, ordered INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Sekibo and directed that a fresh one be issued to Mr. Andrew Uchendu of the APC as the duly elected senator for Rivers East.
Delivering the lead judgment in the appeal by Sekibo challenging the tribunal’s judgment, Justice Adamu Jauro, held that the petition filed by the sacked senator lacked merit.
Wike, while speaking yesterday during a stakeholders’ meeting with leaders of Okirika and Ogu-Bolo local government areas at the Government House, Port Harcourt, noted that APC did not accuse the judiciary of corruption because they won the case.
He said: “Now that we have lost, nobody is saying that the judiciary is corrupt. They are not saying that the judiciary is corrupt because they have won. Tomorrow, if we win, they will say judiciary is corrupt. Then, they will send security operatives to arrest the judges. Nobody will bother to go now and arrest the judges to find out what happened.”
The Governor stated that when the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) visited the state to flag off the construction of the State Judges’ Quarters, the APC went to town claiming that the PDP would procure all judgments at the courts.
He noted: “But now, you will not see them claiming that the judgment was procured. I urge you to continue to have confidence in the judiciary.”
Wike alleged that the Police colluded with APC to tender concocted results at the tribunal, which was relied upon to sack Sekibo.
He added: “Remember that last year, I raised an alarm that INEC and Police were planning to rig the rerun elections. We caught people printing INEC result sheets and reported the matter. Somebody was arrested. They sent the person to Zone 6, Calabar, and granted him bail. Till now, they are yet to complete investigations into that critical matter.
“INEC declared results. All of us know that if elections are held 20 times, Sekibo will win. INEC printed their own result sheets, same serial numbers; these people printed their own result sheets with same INEC serial numbers. You ask yourself, how did they get to know INEC serial numbers? Because they could not smuggle in their own result sheets, INEC declared the authentic results. Unknown to us, they had gone to connive with the Police. That tells you what they want to do in 2019. Thank God they have alerted us. Instead of them to write INEC to give them the certified true copies of the result sheets, they went to the Police. Police are now in custody of INEC results. Police certified their own and gave them.”
Wike alleged that while INEC authentic results were rejected, the ones manufactured by the Police High Command was admitted by the tribunal.
He said: “I have no trouble with that, but I thought that the reverse should have been the case. It has opened our eyes ahead of 2019.”
In his remarks, Sekibo stated that Wike stood with him throughout the struggle. He assured the Governor of the support of Okrika people at all times. He said that contrary to insinuations, his loss at the Appeal Court had nothing to do with the so-called Ikwerre agenda.
He said: “I have been sacrificed and buried, but PDP will come back stronger and better. We shall stand with Wike.”
