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Nobody Contested Against PDP On March 9, Wike Declares …Gov, Stakeholders Offer Thanksgiving, Secondus, Obuah, Eke, Odiari Hail Judgements …As Tribunal Dismisses AAC, ADP’s Petitions, Affirms Wike’s Victory
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has insisted that nobody ran election against him and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the March 9, 2019 Governorship election.
Wike and other Rivers leaders proceeded to the Government House Chapel of Everlasting Grace for Thanksgiving on the tribunal judgment that affirmed his victory.
Reacting to the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal judgement, Wike said but for reliance on connection, all PDP candidates had no opponents in the state.
The governor said: “It is so painful that someone could say that no election held in Rivers State. There was nobody who ran the election against us.
“But for connection, how can anyone say he ran election against us in Rivers State”.
Wike said that he would never be distracted by the antics of the opposition, as he will continue to promote the interest of Rivers State.
“I will never be distracted. I will do everything in the interest of Rivers State. I will continue to work. Nothing will distract me”, he said.
The Rivers State governor expressed happiness that justice has been done in the petition, and thanked his legal team for their commitment.
Ahmed Raji, SAN, attributed the victory to God who has brought the state thus far, saying that from the very beginning, God showed His hand in favour of Rivers State.
Raji said that God crowned the efforts of the legal team with success, emphasising that the judgment was a judicial confirmation of the votes of Rivers people.
Also speaking, Ferdinand Orbih (SAN) said Wike was a winner anytime, stressing that what God has done, nobody can change it.
In his remarks, National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus congratulated Wike on his victory at the tribunal, adding that justice has been served on Rivers people through the judgment.
Secondus said that in a normal setting, nobody would challenge the victory in court, because Rivers people spoke clearly.
Earlier, the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal had affirmed the re-election of Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike following the dismissal of the petition filed by the defeated African Action Congress (AAC) Governorship Candidate, Engineer Biokpomabo Awara seeking the nullification of the March 9, Rivers State Governorship Election.
Also on Saturday, the tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the defeated Action Democratic Party (ADP) Governorship Candidate, Mr Victor Fingesi against the election of Wike.
“We affirm the election of Nyesom Wike as duly elected”, the tribunal declared.
The tribunal said that both petitioners failed to prove their petitions beyond reasonable doubt, and stressed that they failed to adduce evidence to prove that the election was marred by violence and irregularities.
The judgment of the tribunal in the AAC petition was read by Justice K. B. Olawoyin.
The said that Wike won 19 out of the 21 local government areas where elections held, while the petitioner won in two local government areas.
The tribunal said the petitioner failed to call any witness to give credible evidence that there were malpractices during the election that favoured Wike.
It also held that the first petitioner can no longer lead any general and nebulous evidence on violence.
The tribunal noted that what was suspended was the collation of results for six local government areas, insisting that as at the time of the suspension of collation, INEC had concluded collation of results in 17 local government areas.
The Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal stated that by participating in the collation process, the petitioner waited his right to complain.
The tribunal said that the petitioner called 20 witnesses, adding that it had earlier struck out the evidence of two witnesses.
It ruled that the results tendered by the petitioner, Engineer Biokpomabo Awara while giving evidence were inadmissible, and therefore, expunged from the records.
According to the tribunal, the AAC Governorship Candidate tendered certified true copy of the state Governorship Election and the declaration of results by INEC, stating that neither Awara nor any of his witnesses tendered any results different from that of INEC.
The tribunal said Awara failed to call his polling unit agents to testify, even though he admitted that they were all alive, and held that PW3 to 19 who testified were alleged ward or local government agents, whose testimonies have been found not to be credible.
It added that even the results tendered by Awara had no names of polling unit agents, no signatures of polling unit agents and had no INEC stamp, and therefore, declared the said results inadmissible and of no value.
The tribunal ruled that the petitioner witness three (PW3) was not a credible witness; hence his evidence was disregarded, and held that the evidence of PW3 was contrary to the petitioner’s pleadings in his petition.
It further said that Exhibits AA1 to A12 tendered by PW4 were inadmissible in evidence, because PW4 was not the maker, and ruled that the documents were dumped on tribunal, with no polling agents called to give evidence.
While expunging the exhibits from its records, the tribunal said that the evidence of PW4 has no value as it has not proved any electoral malpractice.
The evidence of PW6 of the AAC Governorship Candidate was discredited under cross-examination, the tribunal noted, adding that the evidence of PW6 contradicted his answers during cross examination.
The tribunal noted that PW6 said that the election was peaceful, but insisted that PW6 was not a credible witness, as he lied under oath.
According to the tribunal, aside the names of the witnesses and their respective wards, the witness statements of all of them were the same and each had seven paragraphs.
It held that the evidence of PW7 and the Ward Collation Agent in Omuma LGA, Stanley Nweke, was at variance with the pleadings of the petitioner, and held that the evidence of PW7 was of no value, and therefore, discountenanced.
The tribunal also threw out the evidence of PW9, Henry Iyalla, whose name was not found in INEC’s official list of collation agents, and described him as an imposter, just as it said that Iyalla’s evidence did not contradict the fact that election held in Degema LGA.
On PW10, it held that he did not tender any results of elections in the polling units.
According to the tribunal, the evidence of PW10 goes to no issue because it contradicted the results pleaded by the petitioner.
It held that most of the witnesses of the AAC were not credible, as they discredited themselves through contradictory statements.
The tribunal noted however, that PW21 and the State Collation Agent of AAC, Mr Nenye Kocha, was consistent in his testimony from collation centre to the tribunal that the AAC lost the Governorship election.
According to the tribunal, Kocha was a truthful witness, whose evidence was credible, just as it placed probative value on his testimony.
The tribunal also accepted the testimony of PW22, Joseph Osademe, a producer with AIT, who tendered the video clip showing INEC officials declaring the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike winner of the election.
It also placed value on the document tendered by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, ACP Victor Onugbo.
The document tendered by the police before the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, authenticated the electoral victory of Governor Nyesom Wike during the March 9, 2019 election.
The tribunal aligned with the testimony of the police, saying that it was credible.
It further stated that the fact that the first and second petitioners were opposed to each other was another ground to dismiss the petition.
Determining the petition of the ADP Governorship Candidate, Mr Victor Fingesi on its merit, the tribunal held that the petitioner failed woefully to prove that Wike did not score the highest number of lawful votes during the March 9, 2019 Governorship election.
Justice Kingsley Orjiako said that the petitioner’s complaint was vague and merely speculative.
The tribunal stated that the first petitioner did not know the number of registered voters in the state, and further noted that the petitioner under cross examination said he had no knowledge of the number of registered voters in his own polling unit in Okrika LGA.
It noted that the allegation that the winner did not score the highest number of votes was an invitation to compare figures, and held that the petitioner ought to plead his own results and that of the winner for the court to cross check.
Justice Orjiako noted that there was no evidence of any alleged inflation of results, as the evidence remains vague.
The tribunal held that the burden of proof was strictly on the petitioner and not on any weakness of the defence of the respondents.
It agreed with INEC that election was conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The tribunal explained that the testimonies of the witnesses of the ADP were mere hearsay, since most of them were not at the respective polling units where elections took place, and described most of the witnesses of ADP as impostors who capitulated in the face of cross-examination.
It said that it examined the testimonies on a local government by local government basis, adding that despite the litany of documents pleaded by the petitioner, he could only tender poorly investigated newspaper reports.
The tribunal said that INEC has the power to suspend an election, in line with Section 26 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, and also held that the ADP Governorship Candidate lacks the locus standi to file the petition, having sued the first petitioner, instead of Wike who won the governorship election.
Reacting to the judgment, the Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro. Felix Obuah, expressed delight over the judgment of the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal, which dismissed the petition of the candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Mr. Victor Fingesi, in the March 9, 2019 Governorship Election in Rivers State.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, Obuah commended the tribunal for rising to the occasion, stressing that justice has, once again, been dispassionately dispensed.
The state PDP boss also commended the wise decision and forthrightness of the tribunal Chairman, Justice Kingsley Orjiako, reiterating that Wike’s re-election was a divine order, which any attempt by man to upturn, would be an exercise in futility.
Stressing that Wike was God-sent to Rivers people and that no weapon formed against him shall succeed, Obuah said the time was rife for those still agitated over the outcome of the 2019 General Election, to put the elections behind for the overall interest of the state, adding that what God has approved, no man can reverse.
The Rivers PDP chairman said the Olive branch offered the opposition politicians was a demonstration of Wike’s large heart, and enjoined people, irrespective of political affiliation, to join the progressive train of the Wike administration to move the state forward.
Obuah restated his conviction that the Wike-led administration has demystified governance in the state with remarkable improvement in all sectors of the economy, saying the door was wide open for good ideas that would benefit all and sundry.
Also reacting, the Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Hon. Solomon Eke lauded the judgment of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal for dismissing the petitions of the ADP Governorship Candidate, Mr Victor Fingesi and that of the AAC candidate, Engineer Biokpomabo Awara in the March 9th governorship election in the state.
In a message released via the Chairman’s social media handle, Eke described the judgement as a victory for all Rivers people.
“Today’s judgment is a true reflection of the peoples mandate given to His Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike. This is a victory for all Rivers people.”
The message also congratulated the governor and Rivers people over the victory at the tribunal.
“I heartily felicitate with the good people of Rivers State and congratulate our amiable governor over this victorious judgement. This is indeed the people’s verdict,” the statement read.
Similarly, the Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Council, Chief Odiari Princewill and the good people of ASALGA celebrated as Governor Nyesom Wike recorded another judicial milestone in the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal.
In a statement shortly after the judgment, last Saturday, Odiari said that with the four-hour unanimous judgement, the tribunal judges have shown that the Judiciary remains the last hope of the ordinary man.
He described the AAC petition as an effort aimed at building castle in the air.
Odiari noted that the tribunal’s order that a cost of N900,000 be paid to PDP, Wike and INEC by Awara was justifiable and would serve as punishment for taking the people of the state through the tribunal without any reason.
He said, “Once more, this is a victory for democracy and Rivers people”.
Letters
Ban On Christians Fellowship In Universities
If the story making the rounds on two Nigerian universities being sued for allegation of their ban on Christian fellowship in the campus is anything to go by, then Nigeria is in for another trouble.
According to the story, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Katsina State branch, in conjunction with an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF International), has instituted an action against two universities in Katsina State for indefinitely banning Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campuses.
The suit was said to have been filed against the two universities for violating the right to religious freedom by “indefinitely prohibiting” Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campus.
The Christian legal advocacy group further alleged that one of the universities enforced the ban by locking all worship and fellowship centre on university grounds, preventing Christian students and groups from accessing the facilities and banning them from meeting for worship and fellowship elsewhere on campus while their Muslim counterparts at both universities have been permitted to hold worship and fellowship meetings in university-constructed worship and meeting spaces.
Recall that in 2017, there was a news report on the outlaw of any other religious or tribal association on campus besides the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria by the authorities of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina, Katsina State. A circular credited to the institution’s acting Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Sulaiman Kankara, which was later disowned by the university, contained the directive.
The last time I checked, Nigeria is a democratic, circular state where every individual is free to practise any religion of her choice. Section 38 of the Nigerian constitution provides: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”
It is therefore wrong for a public university to indulge in this discriminatory act. A university is supposed to be an intellectual environment where people should be allowed some level of freedom. There must be robust fellowship and inter-faith relationship. People must be able to relate with each other without any discrimination or stigmatisation.
Knowing how delicate issues on religion are in Nigeria, one hopes that the authorities of the institutions concerned should swiftly look into the report and retrace their steps. The court should be objective in deciding the case and give students of other religions some leverage of freedom. It must be stated that the judgment on this case should not be delayed to avoid any retaliation in other parts of the country.
We already have a lot of issues to deal with in the country. Adding a religious crisis to it could be disastrous. Any university established and funded by either the federal, state or local government, should have freedom of religion. Let there be no more trouble in the country, please.
Waheed Abiodun,
Victoria Street,
Port Harcourt Township.
The NIMC, NCC Partnership
Reports have it that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed that they have partnered to enhance seamless linkage of National Identification Number-SIM across the federation.
Both Commissions said that in recognising the significance of this initiative in enhancing security and improving service delivery, they were committed to improving processes and enhancing efficiency.
This is a welcome development. It has been worrisome why Nigerians should be made to go through the rigorous process of linking their National Identification Number (NIN) with their phone numbers every now and then. Some people who engage in online transactions have recorded some losses over the past few weeks as some internet providers barred their lines due to their inability to successfully do the linkage.
Two weeks ago, I went to a High Court for an official engagement and was shocked to see the number of people seeking to get court affidavits for the linkage of the NIN with the phone numbers so that their line will be unbarred.
It is therefore hoped that the NIMC, NCC partnership will remove all the bottlenecks surrounding the Nin, SIM linkage and make the process very seamless. It is also hoped that this will be the beginning of the process of proper identity management in the country and gradual collapse of all the various forms of identification – Drivers Licence, Voters Card, NIMC card. Bank cards etc into one identity card so that one would not have to be moving around with loads of identity cards.
Ebele Ubani,
Jabi, Abuja.
The Unwanted Strike
Just when the students of Nigeria public universities are rejoicing that there had been a no interruption in the universities’ academic calendar for sometiime, the news about the warning strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), broke.
The Joint Action Committee of the two organisations had directed members to commence a seven day warning strike last week, following the federal government’s inability to pay their four months’ withheld salary.
I do not even understand why the government should allow labour unions to down tools before acting on their demands. Did President Bola Tinubu not direct that university workers that were on prolonged strike in 2022 and their salaries stopped by the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after the invocation of “No Work, No Pay” policy, should be paid four months of the withheld salaries?
Have members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) not been paid in line with the president’s directive? Why were SSANU, NASU and unions concerned not paid? These bodies issued an ultimatum to the federal government. Why was there no effort to address their grievances within the window period?
It is said that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. So, the government, having paid ASUU, should also endeavour to settle SSANU and NASU so that there shall be no interruption in our academic calendar. We did no wrong by choosing public universities. Government, ASUU, SSANU, NASU and what have you should let us learn in peace and graduate at the record time like our colleagues in private universities, please.
IB Michael,
University of Port Harcourt,
Port Harcourt.
Letters
Obi Should Do More, Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage, Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
Obi Should Do More
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, has continued to voice out his opinion on the happenings in the country. On the budget padding scandal currently rocking the upper chamber of the National Assembly, he has told the Senate to provide Nigerians with some explanations on the matter.
He said the claims and counter-claims over the alleged N3 Trillion which was alleged by Senator Abdul Ningi to have been padded into the 2024 budget, requires proper explanation as to what Nigerians must need to know regarding management of the nation’s, insisting that the suspension of Senator Ningi for three months does not address the issue.
The Labour party chieftain had also expressed his concern over the hunger in the country a few days ago. He raised the alarm that Nigerians were spending all their money on food.
It is commendable of Obi to have stood with the masses at this critical time in the nation’s history and be critical of negative happenings in the country and bad government policies. However, Obi should do more than just criticising. It is said that “a tree cannot make a forest”. Therefore, Obi should galvanise all the law makers both on the national and state levels to tow the same line with him, which should be seen as the position of the Labour Party.
In 2023, there was a revolution in the country. People of all walks of life, of various religions and tribes trouped out in support of the labour party because they believed in Mr Peter Obi. People saw the Labour Party as a needed alternative to the two most populous political parties, PDP and APC. Based on Obi’s personality and popularity, some people who ordinarily would not have won councillorship positions in their communities were elected into state and national assemblies. Many of them won the elections for free, spending no shi shi.
Painfully, after assuming the exalted positions, many of them, especially those in the national assembly seem to have forgotten the masses. It is now business as usual. Among the seven senators and 36 House of Representative members of the Labour Party in the National Assembly, which one of them has moved a strong motion about the hardship currently being faced by the masses and how to address it? How many of them stood by Senator Ningi on the budget padding revelation? What out the exotic cars distributed to them, how many of them advised that they should go for less expensive cars and the excess money channelled into developmental projects? It has become a case of one not talking while on the dining table, right?
Obi should be able to organise his party to form a formidable opposition and a party that does things differently, a party that stands with the people. If the labour party elected political office holders carry on the way they have done since they came into office, they will keep de-marketing their party, forgetting that 2027 is just around the corner.
Ngozi Omeje,
Umuahia, Abia State.
Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage
I have followed the discussion on the proposed new minimum wage with keen interest and I just hope the leadership of the organised labour will be firm enough to represent the workers and refuse to fall prey to the ploy to disunite them.
It is disheartening seeing workers come up with different amounts as the proposed minimum wage. While the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, demanded that South-West states should pay N794,000 the Trade Union Congress, TUC, asked for N447,000. Similarly, workers in the Federal Capital Territory demanded N709,000, while their counterparts in the North-West clamoured for N485,000.
This idea of singing in discordant tunes is not good for strong unionism. I recall my days as a civil servant in Ibadan, Oyo state. That was during the time of Adams Oshiomhole as the National President of the NLC. The labour union was a force to be reckoned with and whenever the workers barked, the government caught cold. The increase in workers’ wages was fought for as body. There was nothing like federal workers going to the left and the state workers going to the right. Of course then, in 2000, the TUC did not exist as a separate body. The entire workers spoke in unison.
Yes, the states did reserve the right to say whether they can pay the national minimum wage or not but the national body of the NLC was carried along in the negotiation. Please, the NLC and TUC should come together and present a common front in the new minimum wage quest and ensure that workers in the states also get a fair deal. If not, some of the greedy governors will continue to subject the workers to hardship.
Pa Micheal Adeniran,
Rumuogba Housing Estate, Port Harcourt.
Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
“Today, he’s responding to a remark by the Governor that has nothing to do with him. The opposition is urging the Senate president to be mindful of his utterances. How can he turn the burial of late Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son, such a sad moment, to a political attack?. It’s disappointing. That’s political recklessness taken too far. We, the opposition parties, won’t tolerate such utterances anymore if it continues.”
Above was the response of a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, unguarded remark on Gov. Siminalayi Fubara’s comment during the burial of the late Access Holdings Plc GCEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son last weekend.
It is hoped that Akpabio will heed to the advice and learn how to talk in public. Tracing his character as a public servant and political office holder in various capacities over the years, one would notice that the senate president lacks the act of public speaking and carriage.
Was it not recently that he announced that the clerk of the house had sent money to each of the senators’ personal account for their holiday enjoyment only to be called to other and he changed it to ”In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.” What about the “honourable minister off your mic” shameful display.
Whoever wants to die seeking public/political office should go ahead but leave our dear governor alone.
Loveth Opusunju
Minima, Opobo, Rivers State.
Featured
Fubara Promises Rivers Support For Wigwe Varsity …Cautions Political Class On Power Tussle
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has promised the state government’s commitment to supporting Wigwe University.
Fubara disclosed this on Saturday after the funeral service of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Wigwe, alongside his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizzy, died in a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border, United States of America.
Also involved in the crash was the Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The governor said, “I want to say our brother has finished his work, though short. We, as a government, will do everything with the Wigwe Foundation to immortalise one thing.
“It is not the bank, the bank might have a new identity, a new boss to run it, other ventures will also have their names; but one thing that has his name is Wigwe University.
“We will do everything within our power to make sure the dream will continue to live just as he has planned it.”
Fubara questioned the mourners as to why they kept chasing worldly desires, stressing the significance of impacting lives rather than struggling for power.
“This one has to do with the political class, what is all these struggle all about? You want to kill, you want to bury, what is it all about?
“This is a man who was not a politician, he made his money through our investments, he had the world in his palm financially, he controlled even the political classes; but today, with all the power financially couldn’t control life. Is it not enough to ask ourselves why are we struggling? Why are we not making an impact on the lives of our people?” he queried.
Dignitaries present at the funeral service include the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Sanusi Lamido; Governors Alex Otti (Abia) Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sawwo-Olu (Lagos).
Other dignitaries are former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Peter Obi (Anambra), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Bukola Saraki (Kwarra), and James Ibori (Delta), among others.
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