Politics
I Stand On Side Of Truth, Justice -Yeeh
Being text of a press statement on the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State by former African Action Congress (AAC) Deputy Governorship candidate in the State, Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh on Monday, March 25, 2019 in Port Harcourt.
Excerpts:
The March 9, 2019 governorship election in Rivers State has been lost and won: lost by my party, the African Action Congress (AAC) and its candidate, Engineer Biokpomabo Awara and undoubtedly and overwhelmingly won by the Governor of Rivers State and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, His Excellency Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, GSSRS, POS.
I was the Deputy Governorship candidate of the AAC in Rivers State up till today, 25th March 2019, when I decided to withdraw my candidature and resign from the party with immediate effect.
As the Deputy Governorship candidate, I ran the general elections with Engineer Awara in good faith. We both emerged from the primaries supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, shortly after our emergence, it dawned on me that the AAC was not serious about contesting the elections. The party did no other thing apart from submitting our names to INEC as candidates from the election.
The party did not field any candidate for the National and State Houses of Assembly seats. We printed no single campaign poster nor mounted any single campaign billboard in the State. Neither did we hold a single campaign rally or meeting throughout the campaign period. We never relayed any campaign broadcast or advert on radio, television or the print media. Nobody, I repeat: no voter, in Rivers State even knew what the logo or the AAC looked like.
However, 72 hours to the elections, we received the good news that the AAC had been adopted by the Hon. Rotimi Amaechi-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Governorship election, having been barred by the courts from fielding any candidates for the general elections in the State, except that of the office of the President.
In adopting the AAC, Rotimi Amaechi emphatically assured us that he was going to fund and do every other thing under the sun to give us victory at the polls.
He further disclosed to us that he had already assembled security personnel drawn from the Nigerian Army, the Police, Department of State Security (DSS) and Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) to provide adequate security cover and enablement for members of the AAC and APC to effectively rig the governorship election and have us declared as winners come March 9th, 2019.
The adoption and promise to deliver the AAC, was however, not without conditions that conferred de facto Governor to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi:
- First, he must be the one to appoint ninety per cent of all political office holders, including commissioners, special advisers and chairmen and members of Government Boards, Agencies and Parastatals;
- Second, he must be the one to nominate and produce all the 23 Local Government Council Chairmen and other principal officers of the Councils;
- We, that is, Engineer Biokpomabo and my humble self must consult and take instructions from him on all financial, policy and fiscal matters, as well as the award and payment of contracts and other financial transactions upon our inauguration as Governor and Deputy Governor of the State;
In addition, I was forced to sign an undated letter of resignation as the Deputy Governor of Rivers State to pave way for Rotimi Amaechi to nominate another person of his choice as the Deputy Governor.
These were clearly slavish conditions for any rational politician worth his name to accept, but I pretended to play along because doing otherwise at that time would have been too dangerous a game for the safety of my life, given Rotimi Amaechi’s unconcealed desperation to remove Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike from office and install his stooge in the person of Engr. Awara against all odds.
And so the AAC went into the March 9th, 2019 general elections as an adopted political baby of the APC and with full confidence that the Minister of Transportation would use his federal might and connections with the army to rig it into victory.
But we are all witnesses to what happened on the day of the elections. Reports received in our situation room showed that despite intimidations from the army, the elections went on peacefully in virtually all the Local Government Areas of the State, except Abua/Odual where the army led by APC thugs prevented the distribution of election materials to the wards and units.
Furthermore, records received from the agents of the AAC also showed that collation had been concluded in 19 out of the 23 Local Government Areas of the State before INEC abruptly suspended the collation process following the unfortunate attack on its State Headquarters office by a contingent of the army on the 10th of March 2019.
The collated results further showed that contrary to the false claims of factions led by the APC/AAC alliance, the PDP overwhelmingly won all the elections in 18 out of the 19 Local Governments Areas, culminating in the declaration and return of the party in 26 State House of Assembly constituencies by the Constituency Returning Officers.
This fact was confirmed on the 13th of March, 2019, when INEC stated, as a matter of fact, that it had in its safe custody collated results for 17 Local Government Areas as well as the declaration and return of the PDP candidates for 21 State Constituencies.
The outcome of the elections on March 9th, 2019 clearly showed the preference and direction of the people of Rivers State. Even the blind can see, and the deaf can hear the echo, that Rivers people overwhelmingly voted to stick with Governor Nyesom Wike for the next four years to encourage him to continue with the good works he has been doing to reposition the State for greatness in the last three and half years.
As a budding politician, I have a responsibility to promote and protect democracy, good governance and the rule of law.
If we all agree that the desperation and failed attempt by Rotimi Amaechi to use the army to rig the Governorship election for his infantile AAC candidate was an affront to the democratic rights of Rivers people to freely elect their leaders; then, what can we say about the organised brutality, bloodshed and killings that he unleashed on the innocent persons in Ahoada West, Akuku-Toru, Asari-Toru, Degema, Emohua, Khana, Ikwerre, Okrika and Ogu/Bolo Local Government Areas of the State during the 2019 general elections?
In case you haven’t noticed, the purported claim to victory at the polls by the Rotimi Amaechi-led APC/AAC alliance vanished the very day and moment INEC confirmed safe custody of the collated results in 17 Local Government Areas and its readiness to resume and conclude the collation process in Rivers State as soon as practicable.
Regrettably, despite the national and international outrage against his desperate conduct and deplorable assault on our democratic rights, Rotimi Amaechi and his APC/AAC cohorts are still bent on subverting the manifest will of the people of Rivers State as expressed on the 9th of March, 2019 by planning to:
(i) again use security personnel to violently attack and attempt to frustrate and or prevent INEC from resuming the results collation process from the 2nd – 5th of April 2019 as already scheduled, and or
(ii) use security personnel to arrest, intimidate and force collation officers to change already collated results in favour of the AAC candidate.
As a practising Christian, I have come to the rational conclusion that the actions and desperate attempts by Rotimi Amechi and the APC/AAC alliance to rig the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Rivers are both morally and legally wrong, reprehensible and inimical to the collective interest of the people of Rivers State.
The Almighty will not forgive me if I continue to lend my support to the Rotimi Amaechi’s perfidy against the democratic rights of the people of Rivers State to freely elect their own leaders.
I cannot in all conscience continue to defend the brutality, violence, bloodshed and killings of innocent persons in Rivers State on account of one man’s lust for power and influence.
Power, they say belongs to God, and He alone gives to whosoever He pleases.
God has returned Nyesom Ezenwo Wike to power as Governor of Rivers State for the next four years and there is nothing we can do about it, other than to support him to continue to move our dear State forward.
Therefore, after due consultations with my immediate family, political friends and supporters, I, Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh, the Deputy Governorship candidate of the AAC for the 2019 Governorship election hereby resign my membership of the AAC with immediate effect and announce my defection to the PDP to join hands with Governor Wike to move Rivers State forward.
May God bless our dear Rivers State.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
The Kano State House of Assembly has debunked the purported impeachment plan against the Deputy Governor, Aminu Gwarzo.
The Tide source recalls that the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, recently sparked controversy during an interview session with a local radio station.
Mr Waiya called on the deputy governor to resign for failing to follow his principal, Gov. Abba Yusuf, in defecting from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the spokesperson to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Kamaluddeen Shawai, while addressing journalists in Kano on Saturday, described reports circulating in some media outlets about Mr Gwarzo’s impeachment as baseless and misleading, emphasising that no such plan is underway.
Mr Shawai further stated that the House remains focused on its legislative duties and oversight functions rather than engaging in speculative political manoeuvres.
The spokesperson urged members of the public and the media to verify information before sharing it, stressing the importance of accurate reporting in maintaining political stability in the state.
He said, “There is absolutely no motion or initiative within the House to remove the deputy governor.
“These reports are false and should be disregarded by the public. The deputy governor continues to serve in his capacity with full support from the House.
“Our priority is good governance and serving the people of Kano, not circulating rumours.”
She made the declaration during an interview with Nigerian football legend, Mr Segun Odegbami, during a live radio interview on Saturday.
Prof. Obasanjo, who is also former commissioner in the state, ruled out a return to the Senate, stating that her focus was firmly on the governorship race.
“So, moving ahead, I’m not going to be Commissioner. Like I said, I’m not even going back to the same party because I think that’s old and I don’t see the use of it. And I’m not going to go back to the Senate,” she said.
“Like the Americans would say, there’s no need. And this is what I told my associates, when this all started. I said, the only thing I’ll come back to do is the governorship.
“And we have started that journey. We are going to see it through. And so that’s the journey I’m on. And we are very serious about it. I mean we are very dedicated to it.”
The politician also confirmed that she recently joined the APC, explaining that her return to active politics followed persistent calls from supporters.
“Like I told you, a group of people who I did not bring together, have been working, I think, for two years now. And then they started talking to me about a year ago, saying, ‘Look, we think you are the best candidate. We want you back,’” she added.
Her declaration sets the stage for what may become a keenly contested governorship race in Ogun State ahead of the 2027 elections.
-
Sports3 days agoArsenal Women End Man City’s Invincibility
-
Sports3 days agoU-20 WWC: Falconets claim qualifier win
-
Sports3 days agoInsurance Deepen Enyimba’s Trouble
-
Sports3 days agoYouth Olympics preparation Gears up
-
Sports3 days agoCologne Youth Team Set Crowd Record
-
Sports3 days agoTornadoes Set For NPFL exit over Stadium Ban
-
Sports3 days agoPalmer Stars As Chelsea Compound Wolves Woes
-
Sports3 days agoBarca Pull Out Of Super League Project