On Wednesday The Chieftain of the Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, told Governor Nyesom Wike that his resort again to legal ambush to preempt other political parties from participating in the 2023 general elections would not rescue him from imminent electoral defeat.
Eze also said Governor Wike has never won any elections under a democratic process that guarantees participatory democracy.
He recalled the state governor had used the legal technicality on grounds of electoral act violation against other parties in the state in 2015 and 2019 general polls to coast to electoral victory.
Eze posited that Wike’s opportunity to win, again by a legal default would be a forlorn political strategy in 2023.
He affirmed this in a statement made available to newsmen in PortHarcourt, Rivers State capital.
The APC chieftain also underscored that the suit brought against other political parties by the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Wike would not dampen the resolve of the people of the state to vote out candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2023.
“What the world should know about Rivers State Politics and how Governor Nyesom Wike has retained power in Rivers State since 2015 is that there has not been any proper democratic or free electoral contest since 2015 in Rivers State to test the true relevance of Wike.
“His fear for the proper and free electoral contest has always lured him to ensure that every strong opposition to his governance of the State is quashed or dismantled. He did it in 2015 and by 2019 he perfected it by ensuring through the help of Senator Magnus Abe and others that the APC was stopped from fielding candidates and contesting the 2019 general elections.
“Sadly, he has adopted similar unholy tactics to see if he can stop other political parties from participating or contesting the 2023 general elections”.
It would be recalled that Wike recently dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and 14 other political parties to court over alleged breaches of the Electoral Act in the conduct of their separate primaries.
The relief sought by the PDP is for INEC not to recognize Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs as the Accord party gubernatorial candidate, the Social Democratic Party, guber candidate, Maurice Pronen
and others, especially for the State House of Assembly and National Assembly elective positions.
Before now, however, the APC 2023 governorship candidate, Tonye Cole and former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, had been dragged before a High Court on criminal charges bordering on the illegal sale of state assets.
But Eze said, “Wike knows very well that no Rivers State funds were either misappropriated or misplaced as the said funds were not only captured in the 2014 budget of the state but were also duly paid into the account of the state government”.
“It was believed that the suit was aimed at stopping APC from participating in the 2023 election. We are aware that all these plots are to pave an easy way for the election of the candidature of Mr. Sim Fubara whom Wike wants to impose on the State”.
“Rivers electorate are now better enlightened and committed to voting out his candidates no matter the odds”.
