Rivers Guber: Eze hails Yakubu for setting records straight on role of the Army in the Niger Delta Region

…..Says Wike’s earmark of billions of naira to compromise INEC, sponsor propaganda is a waste of Rivers resources

…Rejects Wike’s plea to Join APC

Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, counselled his good friend the outgoing Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom  Wike to stop wasting the resources of Rivers State and his time by sending emissaries to President Muhammadu Buhari to save him and prevail on INEC to announce him as being reelected to engineer him joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the end of March, 2019 as no ploy will save him from leaving office as the people of Rivers State have spoken and their votes will count this time around no matter the odds.

Eze commended the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for recognising the immense role played by the Nigerian Army to ensure a peaceful election process in the South-South during the governorship and House of Assembly elections last Saturday.

He noted that the courage exhibited by Prof. Yakubu when he apologized to the Nigerian Air Force over the wrong allegation against the force that its personnel invaded the INEC office in Rivers state, had shown that the presence of the armed forces had prevented a repeat of the 2015 experience when Rivers people were killed in tens just for Chief Nyesom Wike to be forcefully made Governor.

According to Eze, the presence of the armed forces, especially the Nigerian Army, has prevented a bloodbath, which the State Governor and Governorship candidate of the PDP, Chief Nyesom Wike, had orchestrated to unleash on the entire State and most especially on the opposition, through the hitherto proscribed Neighborhood Watch, which has been tagged his private army. Eze said except for a few cases where Wike had personally mobilised his Neighborhood Watch to cause mayhem in a couple of places, the Rivers election has remained mostly peaceful and lives preserved by the presence of the armed forces.

“Surprisingly instead of commending the Army for securing the lives of those that would have been wasted by the desperation of Governor Wike to sustain himself in office,  he is rather sponsoring propaganda against the Army, who if not for their actions, Rivers State would have been declared a theatre of war as aptly characterised by the Supreme Court while studying the 2015 elections in the State and considering how hundreds of lives were lost to install Chief Wike as Rivers State Governor.

“I am happy that INEC is coming to terms with the desperation of Wike to use all means, both crude and wicked to sustain himself in office; through the declaration of war against the Nigerian Army and resulting in the army losing some of its very prized and gallant officers and men, while some others are currently hospitalised and begging for their lives. Keeping such a character in office for any reason is to demonstrate hatred and disdain for the peace and progress of Rivers state and her people and we will never accept such a plot against a State that have made their choice.

“It is good that the Independent National Electoral Commission has apologized to the Nigerian Air Force for wrongfully accusing it of using its personnel to invade its premises in the state and disrupt the collation of results in the protracted governorship and House of Assembly polls. The Army is totally innocent of the concocted lies being manufactured on daily basis just to discredit an institution that means well for the State.

“Wike whose idea of running a government is through propaganda and use of force should accept the fact that his idea of governance is no longer acceptable to Rivers State and her people and should accept his defeat in good faith and congratulate the incoming Governor, Engr Biokpomabo Awara, accordingly to sustain the peace in Rivers as the strategy of wasting public money to make futile effort to sponsor the traditional leaders to speak against an election adjudged as most peaceful in the state doesn’t do any good to his battered image”, Eze said.

Eze exposed that Wike had mobilised the Secretary of Rivers State Pilgrims Board and the Resident Priest of his chapel at his house on Ada George Road, Ven. Richard Okpara, to mobilize Bishops and Priests to condemn the military, like the attempt to force traditional rulers to make statement against the army. He, however, counselled church leaders to understand that God is always ready to pass judgement against those who profess falsehoods in his name.

Are noted that it is unfortunate that Governor Wike knowing that he has been massively voted out has resorted to endanger the lives of Rivers State youths by sponsoring them to protest before the INEC National Head office at Abuja to sway INEC to announce his fake results that doesn’t tally with what is obtainable in the State.

The APC chieftain went on to encourage the INEC officials that Wike, in his characteristic manner, may have compromised, to avoid the hammer of EFCC and abide by the general resolution by Rivers people to vote out Wike as “he has been a disaster in the manner he has administered the State”.

He further exposed that Obo Effanga, the Rivers state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), and Etim Umoh, the Administrative Secretary of INEC in Rivers as the major obstacles to peaceful elections in the state by conniving with Wike to continue to sabotage peaceful elections in the State and the need of investigating and removing such bad eggs need not be overemphasised.

He gave examples of the unwholesome plot of appointing and using key PDP officers as electoral officials in the ongoing Rivers state gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections by the REC:

1. Ledornu Gbenekanu Mpigi, Returning officer khana LGA, a brother to Barry Mpigi, the PDP candidate for Rivers South East Senatorial zone. He is still a Student and not a Lecturer. Yet, the Vice Chancellor of University of Port Harcourt allegedly issued him a Letter of Employment.

2. Prof Nmom..Returning Officer, Tai LGA

3. Prof Joyce Akaniwo, RO for Ahoada West.

4. Bright Chizobam Azuomwu: Returning Officer, Bonny LGA, who had contested in Rivers East Senatorial Primaries under PDP.

5. Peter Medee- RO, Emohua LGA. A widely known PDP Chieftain..

“For the AAC candidate to have overcome all these plots and still defeat Governor Wike massively simply exposes how weak and unacceptable Wike has become and INEC must not jeopardize the feelings of the people of Rivers State and do the needful”,  Eze said.