Introduction
Prince Favour Felix Reuben, is the Rivers State Chairman of Labour Party.  In this interview with Opaka Dokubo, he bared his mind on the preparedness of his party toward the forthcoming legislative re-run elections in the State and other related issues.
Excerpts
How prepared is the Labour Party for the forthcoming re-run elections in Rivers State?
We are getting pre
pared and that informed our meeting with various labour unions to get their support. We are well prepared for the elections. We are prepared to capture as many seats as possible in the National and State Assemblies. Our only prayer is that there should be free, fair and credible election. Let it be one man, one vote and the Labour Party is going to spring a surprise for the people of Rivers State.
Why was the Labour Party not at the tribunal?
We went to the tribunal but only to challenge the governorship election. The National and State Assembly candidates could not go to the tribunal the tribunal was relocated to Abuja. The expenses involved was too high so they couldn’t go but we as a political party went to the tribunal, even though the candidates refused to go.
We thought we need to teach a lesson to candidates that come to run for offices on the platform of political parties and that’s why we filed a case at the tribunal. So, the party was at the tribunal but our case was struck out at the Appeal Court.
Besides, we have observed that the governor has been doing well within the period that he has been in office, so we thought that there was no need going to the Supreme Court. That’s why we decided not to take the matter beyond the Court of Appeal.
It is on record that the Labour Party in Rivers State went to the tribunal to challenge the election and our purpose for challenging the governorship election was because of the way and manner INEC conducted itself.
We believe as Labour Party, which is affiliated to labour unions, that if an election is free, fair and credible, there is no need going to court. We believe that once a government is formed, it no longer belongs to a political party, it becomes the government of that state, Rivers State in this case. And so, I believe that once a government is formed, all the political parties should sheathe their swords and work with that government to see to the betterment of the state.
So, that’s what we tried to do but the party went to court but the candidate said he didn’t have money to go to court.
Stopping at the Court of Appeal, did you see the wisdom of your Governorship candidate from the beginning?
There was no wisdom in him. He doesn’t have any wisdom in him. When we moved, we moved on our own volition and when we withdrew, we withdrew on our own volition. And that’s why we went on air with his suspension. As we speak, he has no business with the party and he is not a member of our party. So, he  had nothing to with our decision to stop at the Appeal Court. The party decided to withdraw at that point instead of giving the governor more headache. So, it had nothing to do with the wisdom of the candidate. The candidate has nothing to do with what we are doing.
When you are a candidate of a political party in an election, the people should be sure that you were not bribed, the people should be sure that you’re a serious candidate, the people should be sure that you actually came to contest in the election.
Whether it is true or not, your presence in the court would have told the public that this man is serious. But we discovered that he was not serious and he never did anything serious to win the election and when the issue of court case came, he showed us what stuff he was made of by not going to court.
In the event that the Supreme  Court goes the way of  the Court of Appeal, who becomes your Governorship candidate?
Look at the situation in the Niger Delta, especially going by what happened in Bayelsa, just to conduct election in eight local government areas, INEC could not control, security agencies could not control and we can see the number of people that were killed. In my own opinion as a person, I will advise the Supreme Court not to tamper with the governorship election in Rivers State. Considering the security situation in the state, it is better that we allow the person that is there to rule and go.
But be that as it may, I will say that if eventually the election of Governor Wike is nullified and we’re asked to go for a re-run, then the party (Labour Party) will think of what to do. But as I am talking to you, we don’t have a candidate in the event of a governorship election. However, if we have to go to another election, we will cross that bridge when we get there.
What is the relationship between Labour Party and the Rivers State Government?
You should know that the Labour Party is the workers’ party and once a government is formed, labour party becomes part of that government. Unless the government does not want to seek our wisdom, because in the Labour Party we have a lot of technocrats that can make the government go forward. But if the government does extend a hand of fellowship, we are not going to force ourselves on it, we’re not going to fight that government, we’re only going to criticize policies that will affect the people and also commend policies that will be beneficial to the people. That is the position of the Labour Party. But if the government of the day decides to bring us on board and we’re working with them, I can tell you that we’re not going to object to that.
We’re not like other parties that criticize whether it is good or bad. Labour is not too hungry or desperate to get power. Our own is that we appeal to the will of the people and if the people agree and see reason with what we are saying, they will vote the Labour Party for a better change. There are people that are shouting a slogan of change but it is not change, it is chain. We are promising a better change. So if the government extends a hand of fellowship, we’re going to embrace it and work with the government and make it succeed.
Has this government extended that hand of fellowship and are you working wth it?
Well, when you talk of extending a hand of fellowship to work with the government, as executives of the government, we are not there. But if you talk in terms of IPAC, Bro Felix Obuah who is the state chairman of PDP is the chairman of IPAC and I, as the state chairman of Labour Party, and the PRO of IPAC, we work at that level and not at the government level. As I am talking to you now, there’s no representative of the Labour Party in the present government.
What is the  Labour Party doing to ensure that the forth-coming election is crisis free?
The information reaching us before now is that the Federal Government has decided with INEC to send election materials to police stations to be distributed from there to various polling units. We are monitoring  the situation but we are resolved to resist such an arrangement as a party. As the PRO of IPAC I can tell you that we’re going to mobilize all political parties in Rivers State to resist any attempt by INEC to change the rule of the game. The rule is that INEC materials must be in INEC office from where they are distributed to the INEC sub offices and the RACS. But if we discover that they are taking them to police stations, we’re going to react, we’re going to mobilize our members and make sure that we stop that election from holding in Rivers State.
As Labour Party we’re doing everything possible to ensure that the election is free, fair and credible and  I can tell you that we’re well prepared. We’re mobilizing, we’re moving and we’re not sleeping to make sure that wherever we have our candidates…I am not going to tell you that we will be everywhere. We’re working with a specific number of candidates that are strong and wherever we have them, we’re sure to win that election. We’re only asking the security agencies not  to polarize Rivers State. We’re also asking INEC to play according to the rules of the game. We’re going to resist any attempt by INEC or the security agents to pervert the will of the people in the state. As Labour Party, we’re at the forefront of the campaign for a free, fair and credible election in Rivers State.
What message do you have for the people of Rivers State?
I want to advise the people of Rivers State to be prepared to vote for candidates of their choice and remain at the polling units to make sure that their votes count. They should not be intimidated by anybody. I’m advising all Rivers people to come out enmass during the election to vote because the power of their votes is what will change the situation. If you don’t go out to vote, it means that you can not criticize that government. I am advising the people of Rivers State to stand their grounds when the elections come just the way Bayelsa did. No matter the intimidation, they stood their ground and voted for who they wanted to vote for. I am advising them to vote for candidates of the Labour Party where you see the candidate of the Labour Party that is strong and vote for other candidates that you believe can deliver. Don’t vote for political parties.

Prince Reuben