LGA Poll: River State Will Be In Anarchy If You Don’t Call Wike, IGP To Order Now – APC Chieftain To Tinubu

APC Chieftain, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has urged President Tinubu to intervene in the Rivers State local government election crisis, accusing IGP Kayode Egbetokun and Minister Nyesom Wike of sabotaging the electoral process.

Eze urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene quickly, in a statement on Friday, stating that the police’s actions, including an early morning invasion of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office, were biased and unlawful.

He alleged that Wike was behind the sabotage to frustrate Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s administration.

The erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP), said that the brewing tension was created by the Police in their “unprofessional handling of issues” pertaining to the scheduled October 5 local government election in Rivers State.

Chief Eze said the call became necessary given the series of “biased indulgences of the Police to frustrate the LGA poll, particularly the unlawful invasion of RSIEC at 1:00am this morning by masked men on Police uniform who had mopped the facility to cart away sensitive materials intended for use for the election”.

“Sadly the so-called Police men were mobilised from neighbouring States in order to cause chaos in the State”, he said.

Eze berated the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike over his “surreptitious machinations in collaboration with the Police to frustrate the Rivers Local Government Election”, describing it as a show of shame.

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The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had fixed the Council election following a presidential directive to State Governors to ensure democratically elected council administration in the 774 LGAs line with the recent Supreme Court judgement which frowned at the use of caretaker committees to run council administrations contrary to the letters of the constitution.

Recall that the Supreme Court of Nigeria by its judgement in SC/CV/343/2024: A-G Federation v A-G Abia State and 35 Ors delivered on 11 July 2024 effectively outlawed the administration of local government councils with appointed officers.

The apex court made several other orders including the immediate stoppage of statutory allocations to Local Government Councils without democratically elected local government councils.

Unsettled with the development, the camp of the FCT Minister had reportedly launched series of schemes to frustrate the election including a foiled attempt by former council chairmen loyal to him to perpetuate themselves in office beyond their exit date through an amendment of the state local government law by pro-Wike former lawmakers, which amendment was unturned by the court.

They had also made attempts to shop judgements from some Judges who have turned their courts into cash and cary centers to stop the election. And just yesterday, they mobilized protesters to demonstrate against the planned election in a bid to curry public sympathy.

Chief Eze reacting, said the failed protest may not be the last resort of the FCT Minister and his team as intelligence report reveals a clandestine plot to scuttle the election across the state through “cult boys who have been mobilized and briefed with assurances of police protection in that regard”.

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The APC Chief said “Wike’s desperation is to see to the failure of Gov. Fubara’s administration in order to have something to gloat over. All the political parties except PDP, are participating in the election. PDP opted out on the orders of Wike, yet the man who is not interested in LGA election is doing everything to frustrate the exercise”.

“The non-participation of pro-Wike PDP in the Rivers LGA election is a clear pointer to cowardice. They know there won’t be any avenue for manipulation that is why they opted out and started deploying schemes to sabotage the election, Wike strives in manipulation”, Eze alleged.

The party chieftain knocked the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Dr Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem for turning himself into a Spokesperson for the Pro Wike Group. “From his comments, it is glaring clear that the REC does not know the limit of his job specification as an official of INEC. As a matter of of fact, INEC has no business with state organized Elections.

“The Rivers INEC REC should be reminded that Voters official register for Rivers State has long officially been in the custody of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and for him to wake up at this last minute to issue a baseless statement for a group of political clowns who are hellbent on destroying the state is disturbing”.

Eze commended Gov. Fubara for constantly keeping watch over RISIEC Office and overthrowing a dispatch of Police officers who had, early this morning attempted to cart away sensitive materials meant for the Saturday election to please Wike.

He said the Governor’s resolve to ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court judgement and the presidential directive despite the stiff opposition mounted by the FCT Minister and his circle of clowns in the pursuit of their selfish, private vendetta, also merits applaud.

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He called on Rivers people to disregard the dissenting voice of Mr. Wike whose “indulgence clearly conflicts with the directive of his principal, President Tinubu who desires to see the local government administrations function optimally”.

Eze urged President Tinubu to call FCT Minister and Police IG to order in order not to throw Rivers State into anarchy. It is the duty of the Governor to secure his state and where Police fails the Governor is under obligation to live up to his constitutional responsibilities regardless of the way and he intends to do so”.

While calling on voters to turn out en masse and vote candidates of their choice, Eze urged them not to yield to threats and intimidation from the camp of the FCT Minister and his band of stranded politicians.