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INEC Cannot Conduct Credible Polls, Wike Insists
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has declared again that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot be trusted to conduct credible polls in 2019 because of the inconsistent actions of the commission.
Governor Wike stated that though Rivers people are peace-loving, they will resist any attempt to rig the 2019 elections in the state.
He spoke during a Special Appearance on Channels Television Sunrise Daily last Wednesday which was aired from the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said: “INEC has different interpretations of judgements depending on where it is coming from. When the court nullified the Rivers APC primaries, a lawyer of one of the factions wrote to INEC not to recognise any candidate because of the judgement. INEC wrote to APC notifying them of outcome of that judgement. INEC merely said they were in receipt of the letter requesting that INEC should obey. In the case of PDP, INEC wrote to PDP in Ogun State, where Buruji dragged the party to court, telling them they will comply.
”When there is a judgement against PDP, there is immediate enforcement. When it concerns APC, INEC says they are studying the judgment. In the case of Ogun State PDP, INEC quickly obeyed the judgement”.
The governor said that INEC should work as an unbiased umpire, ensuring that the Electoral Act is respected at all times and due process followed in the conduct of elections.
Wike noted that INEC has been involved in several under-the-table actions in Rivers State since 2015. He said that during the rerun elections, INEC connived with the Police to deny the people of Rivers East Senatorial District their rightful mandate.
He stated that INEC and security agencies should commit themselves working towards credible polls. He noted that INEC and security agencies should sign a pact to respect the tenets of the Electoral Act.
”The Peace Accord is a ceremony. It is a mere public display. The Peace Accord cannot work because they are not sincere.
”INEC and Security should sign Peace Accord because they are ones who create circumstances for electoral violence. They try to manipulate the process against the will of the people”, he said.
The governor noted that security agencies have played negative roles in over-heating the polity in Rivers State.
”It is INEC and Security that don’t want us to have peaceful elections in Rivers State.
Why do they want to capitalize on the claim that politicians are the ones that compel them to act illegally.
”Rivers people are peaceful, the only time we have crisis is when we see the electoral umpire being biased and security agencies working against due process in elections. We will continue to resist”, he said.
He added: “Many people have come to me to have a deal with Federal Government, why will I do that. I will never do that.
”If not because of the way we resist, they would have overrun the state. It is coming to the point people where will say yes we love life, but what is life when we are not free to decide who leads us”.
Wike noted that the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended Electoral Act is a sign that the President is not committed to credible polls.
He said: “I was shocked that the President did not sign the Electoral Act. In my matter, the Supreme Court appreciated the Card Reader, but said it was not backed by law. They called for the Electoral Act to be amended for more credible polls.
”He said he wants to leave a legacy of free and fair elections, but he refused to sign the Electoral Act that will facilitate the process. If Mr. President had signed the Electoral Act , it would have made it difficult to manipulate. But he refused to sign the law”.
On the termination of sale of valued state assets, Governor Wike said that the State Government is only implementing the white paper of the Justice Omereji Commission of Inquiry.
He noted that there is no politics of bitterness in Rivers State . He said the only problem is that somebody wants to create a dynasty .
He said: “INEC set up a committee and the committee indicted the SARS commander Akin Fakorede. What INEC should do is to act on the report.
”You have identified that officer who perpetrated the violence and we have another report by the police, signed by a deputy commissioner of police who indicted Akin Fakorede and asked that he be charged to court”.
The governor said that Rivers State APC does not exist in Rivers State, pointing out that Rivers APC relies on manipulation by the military and security agencies for relevance.
”We don’t have any problem with APC. We have a problem with security agencies. APC does not exist in Rivers State, they only exist because of the presence of security agencies who aid them.
”We are not talking about candidates of APC, but the compliance with the law.
APC has not complied with the provisions of the law, can they still participate in the election and a political party can challenge INEC on compliance with the provisions of the law.
“We are an interested party. We have complied with the law and if you don’t comply, you will not participate with us. We went to court merely for the interpretation of the relevant sections of the electoral Act, whether APC is entitled to nominate candidates without having valid lawful primaries. The issues have gone beyond the internal affairs of the APC, because they have not complied with the Electoral Act”.
He stated that Rivers State is wholly controlled by the PDP, pointing out that no other political party can win elections in the state.
”Rivers State is PDP. There is no way any party will win PDP in Rivers State. The only thing APC can do is for them to use of security to manipulate for them. There is no incentive for the people of Rivers State to support the APC.
”All of us know that APC does not want elections in Rivers State. They want to bring security to overrun the state like Ekiti. But we will resist them”, he said.
Governor Wike said that he has no untoward relationship with Senator Magnus Abe as being alleged by APC leaders.
He said: “I have never spoken with Magnus Abe on Phone. The last time I met with him, was when the President commissioned the airport.
”Am I the one who told the Minister of Transportation to deny his members access to forms to contest ward congresses? I have no business with Abe”.
The governor said that the President by his actions condone illegality by APC leaders in Rivers State.
He said: “I watched an APC rally, the president of the country stood on the platform with Ojukaye who has a bench warrant hanging over his head for multiple murder trial. But Ojukaye went there with police and military escorts, when there was a bench warrant on him.
”It is worrisome that today they are giving politicians platoons of soldiers to move around. Assuming without conceding, if things were done wrong in the past, should you continue with them”.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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