APC, PDP trade words over Wike’s sack

The judgement of the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal, which sacked the governor, Nyesome Wike, and called for fresh elections within 90 days has elicited reactions from both parties in the suit.

The state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the Tribunal judgement is a vindication of its persistent claim that the election that produced Wike as governor was a sham.

But the PDP on its part, described the judgement as a travesty of justice and rape on democracy, and that it would appeal the Tribunal ruling, even as it noted, that Wike remains governor of the state.

The APC in a statement issued by its State Chairman, Davies Ibiamu, in Port Harcourt after the tribunal chairman delivered judgement, said: “We have been vindicated in our persistent claim that the election in Rivers State was a sham and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) erred in declaring Wike governor. We repeat that there is no way under the heavens that Chief Wike can beat our candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in a free and fair election,”

The statement reads further: “Though, we were expecting total ban of Chief Nyesom Wike from further participation in the politics of Nigeria seeing the orchestration of the number of death of Rivers State people in order for him to be installed as a Care-Taker Governor, all the same we thank the Justice Mohammed Ambrusa-led Tribunal for restoring hope to the downtrodden people of Rivers State who have borne the brunt of Wike’s illegal and visionless administration in the past five months.

“We thank the Tribunal for allowing itself to be used by God to uproot the impostor governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who has these past five months brought monumental suffering to our people in cahoots with some mischievous and misguided politicians whose only understanding of governance is blackmailing and the looting of our common patrimony,” Rivers APC said.

It lamented that “Wike’s tragic entry into the Brick House seat of power has only succeeded to bring back criminality in various forms in the once peaceful Rivers State as kidnapping, robbery and organised crimes have being on the increase since his evil arrival.”

On the other side, the state PDP Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah said no matter the degree of conspiracy by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government, the falsehood and gang-up against Rivers people will amount to a nullity in the end.

Read also: Breaking… Rivers Tribunal Sacks Gov Wike

Obuah while urging the Rivers people not to panic over the pre-empted judgment which had been decided long before the written addresses by the parties were adopted Thursday, October 22, 2015 cited section 143, subsection 1 of the Electoral Act 2010 which guarantees an elected governor to stay in office and continue to execute his duties as the State Chief Executive as long as a notice of appeal is given against the judgment within 21 days from the date of the judgment notwithstanding the decision of the election tribunal.

The State PDP Chairman said this is one tribunal judgment that will never stand, stressing that the PDP will get to any legal height possible to fight the injustice.

According to him, “There is no other reason why the tribunal hurriedly delivered the contraption it called judgment in less than 24 hours after adopting the written addresses on a matter that lasted over four months than to pre-empt the judgment of the Supreme Court against the tribunal by the PDP which comes up next week Tuesday, the Chairman noted.

“The good thing is that by the hurried judgment, the tribunal chairman has exposed his partiality and shot himself in the leg by defying all legal procedures and going ahead to deliver judgment on the APC petition when there is an impending matter hinging on the appeal at the Supreme Court just as he refused to vacate his seat as chairman of the election petitions tribunal for the State Governorship Election Petitions despite PDP’s resentment on questions of integrity and impartiality.

“Notwithstanding all this, in the end we shall have the last laugh”, Obuah declared.

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