The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State are livid with the conduct of the local government election held in the state last Saturday, September 5.
In the election, the Action Peoples Party (APP) won 22 of the 23 chairmanship positions, while the Action Alliance (AA) got one.
The APP also swept 314 of the 319 councillorship seats in the 23 area councils.
The APC faction loyal to the former minister of transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, Boot Party, Labour Party (LP) Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Young People’s Party (YPP) won one councilor seat apiece.
The PDP loyal to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and erstwhile governor of the state, Mr Nyesom Wike, led by Mr Aaron Chukwuemeka, and the APC faction led by Mr Tony Okocha and also loyal to Wike had boycotted the poll, citing irregularities and lack of due process by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The parties alleged that no election was held in the state.
As the state governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, swore in the newly elected council chairmen, the Wike loyalists vowed it would challenge the exercise it in court.
The spokesman for the party, Mr Kenneth Yowika, said the party would not recognise the results of the election.
He described as “illegal” everything concerning the election.
“We have made it clear that elections should not be held based on the Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu.
“Any action taken regarding the local government elections is ultimately futile because, as a country, we must abide by the rule of law.
“And I had said before this time that any action taken regarding the issue of the local government will be futile because if we say we are a country that stands by the rule of law, then we should not be doing things that are contrary to the law.
“The law had said do things that will be in line with the judgment of the Federal High Court and the government of the day has not obeyed that.
“So, we are a law-abiding party. We are not going to come out physically to begin to fight.
“We are pressing further through the courts to ensure that justice is done and seen to have been done. So, we do not agree, nor do we recognise any swearing-in ceremony taking place…” said.
He maintained that there was no election and that the party was waiting for the judiciary and other arms of government that should put things in proper perspective.
“We continue to hold on that there was no election. We visited the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission…and clearly, the world saw that there was no election there. So, we stand by the ruling of the Federal High Court which said that that election should not go on.
“Well, they went ahead to do whatever charade people saw and that is not acceptable by the Peoples Democratic Party. Like we said we are a law-abiding party, and we stand to remain that,” he added.
For his part, the spokesman for the Okocha-led APC faction, Mr Chibuike Ikenga, said Federal High Court judgment which restrained the state government from conducting the poll subsists.
Ikenga also said the swearing-in of the winners is of no relevance.
Like his PDP counterpart, Ikenga said the APC would seek redress in court.
“As a party, we insist on obeying the decisions of the Federal High Court under Justice Peter Lifu. And that is the reason why we did not acknowledge that any election ever took place. But the government is known for disobedience of court order went ahead. So, they are on their own.
“Our position is that you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. So, whether anybody has been sworn in or not is secondary, we are not aware and we are not interested….
“We are pressing further through the courts to ensure that justice is done and seen to have been done. So, we do not agree nor do we recognize if any swearing-in is taking place today or tomorrow,” he stated.
However, the APC loyal to Amaechi, said the outcome of the poll was satisfactory.
“The APC won the council slot. We are satisfied with the election held. Our biggest worry was those who said the election should not be held. So, we accept the outcome and we will not litigate it,” Mr Chizi Enyi, chief of staff to the APC chairman, Mr Emeka Beke said.
Meanwhile, the former deputy spokesman for the APC, Mr Timi Frank, alleged that Wike was planning to secure a court injunction to block releases from the federation account to the 22 local government areas in the state.
He alleged in a statement on Monday that the FCT minister had resorted to the plot following his failure to stop the local government elections in the state.
He said Wike through his proxies would approach a Federal High Court in Abuja with spurious writ, praying the court to issue an order stopping the allocation of funds to 22 area councils.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot afford to fold his arms and watch as Wike plots to reverse democracy in Rivers State and by extension Nigeria.
“The anti-democratic tendency of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who seized funds meant for local councils in Lagos during Tinubu’s administration as governor must not be allowed to repeat itself in Rivers State.
“Wike is putting finishing touches to plans to secure a kangaroo court order to stop monthly funds allocation to local government councils in Rivers State. This must not be allowed to happen,” he said.
He warned that such a move could lead to economic disruption in Rivers State in particular and the country in general as well as reversal of democratic gains the country has made since 1999.
“Any action capable of truncating democracy in the country similar to ongoing scenarios in some West African States must be avoided.
“The people of Rivers State have elected their council chairmen and councilors in line with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court to democratise all the local government areas in Nigeria and any attempt to truncate democracy in Rivers would be resisted by the people,” he added.
Frank urged Fubara not to be distracted by the evil machinations of his traducers and political opponents and commended the people of Rivers for successfully electing their council representatives and urged them to redouble their support for the governor.
