Rivers State Chairman Of APC, Chief [Dr] Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, JP Tackles Wike And Matters Arising On Monday, March 1, 2016 At The APC State Secretariat, 43 Forces Avenue, Old Gra, Port Harcourt
Gentlemen of the Press,
Good morning and welcome once more to the Rivers State Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress.
We wish to draw your attention and indeed the attention of all Nigerians and the entire world to the unfortunate but State sponsored increasing insecurity, impunity and arm twisting of the Judiciary in Rivers State.
1. GOVERNOR NYESOM WIKE, HIS ATTORNEY-GENERAL, E. C. AGUMA (SAN) AND THE RIVERS STATE JUDICIARY
It is a great irony that Gov. Nyesom Wike who had boasted on several occasions that if an election was conducted 100 times in Rivers State, he would win it 100 times. In fact, in one such silly boast, he stated that even if the election were conducted by the UN, he would still win.
With the election only a few days away in which the wisdom and veracity of that silly boast shall be tested and instead of allowing the process to commence on an even keel with all the candidates, NyesomWike and his Attorney General have dragged the Rivers State Judiciary, now headed by the Hon. Justice Adama Iyayi-Lamikanra, Ag. Chief Judge, into it with a view to using the Judiciary to disqualify a good number of the APC candidates even before the poll is commenced.
Why desire to use the Judiciary to disqualify people you have bragged about several times you will win any day in any election even 100 times?
Our candidates for the House of Assembly elections, Hon.Chidi Lloyd of Emohua Constituency and Leo Anyanwu of Omuma Constituency, have been sued before the Port Harcourt High Court in which ChinweAguma and Co; the Law firm at Ogbunabali belonging to the Attorney-General which filed the action, claiming that these two APC candidates be disqualified from the election. Their ground is that the Primaries of the APC, held since December last year and on which they contested the April 11, 2015 election that was voided by the Court of Appeal, are suddenly, not a valid primary.
Curiously, this is the same point the PDP canvassed at the election petition tribunal and at the Court of Appeal which roundly rejected the argument and dismissed it.
The Supreme Court has also, in several Decisions, dismissed such arguments. But, because NyesomWike and his Attorney-General have never everloved merit nor believed in fair play but rather, embrace underhand methods of competition, they have now approached the Rivers State Judiciary to sit on appeal against the decisions of the Court of Appeal which also ordered the reruns.
They have been putting pressures on Judges of the Rivers State Judiciary to truncate democracy and put the scheduled rerun elections in jeopardy by disqualifying our candidates before the rerun election.
We have it on good authority that following the rejection of the pressure by three Judges who refused to handle the matter and returned the casefiles, they have continued shopping with huge cash inducement for a ready and ethically-challenged Judge who will accept the brief and quickly disqualify Chidi Lloyd and Leo Anyanwu before the rerun election so as to pave way for a cheap PDP victory.
We have it also on good authority that other suits are on the way against other candidates of the APC for disqualification on the same dubious ground of not 21 days notice to the INEC before the APC primaries.
Already, several suits filed by Wike and his Attorney General have been assigned to Justice Omereji, the same Justice Omereji and some other Judges, to obtain a blanket injunction against the Police and all the security agencies restraining them from arresting any PDP member before and during and after the election. Clearly, the state judiciary has been enlisted against the election rerun.
We ask: what manner of Judge and justice is that, which, in such a blanket manner, prevents security agencies from doing their statutory work? So, if the PDP members are committing any crime especially in relation to the election rerun, they should not be arrested. The security agencies should not do their duty.
Surely, only a person who has pre-planned to commit crime goes to shop for such judicial cover before the act.
We remind all honest-hearted people of our not-too-palatable-past in which the judiciary was shut down for over a year.. Sincere persons know that it was Wike’s untamed appetite for political power that led to the hostilities which eventuated to that shut down of the judiciary. The same Wike now would not give the judiciary and his politics a wide berth: He is actively enlisting the same judiciary to his politics with the aim of using court orders obtained from unscrupulous judges to cause another round of humiliation of and crises in the justice sector.
Why don’t you leave the judiciary alone and out of the election and allow anyone who wins to be challenged at the Election Tribunal set up for that purpose instead of seeking for a disqualification from ethically-challenged judicial persons when, clearly, such disqualification should have been sought before the main election of which the March 19 election is only a rerun?
Governor Wike’s merit-averse Government and his equally merit-averse Attorney General should be held responsible should another crisis befall the state judiciary or any Judge gets the Akanbi treatment.
As a responsible Political party, the APC hereby assures its teeming supporters that it shall not stand idly bye and watch a hapless and conscienceless Judge, no mater his or her connection in the NJC, allow him or herself to be a hand maiden to Wike’s style of politics of corruption and lack of merit. We shall resist that with every ounce of our strength.
2. INSECURITY AND CRIMINAL KILLING OF APC MEMBERS IN RIVERS STATE
You will recall that the All Progressives Congress has since last year been calling the attention of the whole world to the killing of its members by agents of the PDP in Rivers State. This criminal activity has continued and has reached an alarming proportion.
We hereby draw your attention to the killings in Ogba/Ebema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, Ahoada East, Andoni, Khana and Ikwerre LGAs amongst others.
The recent incidence in Bori was planned and executed by the Governor of Rivers State in order to stop Senator Magnus Ngei Abe from winning the forth coming Rerun Elections seeing that the entire Ogoni people have accepted the candidature of the Distinguished Senator.
The same Governor Wike who approved the Military action against criminals in Yeghe particularly Solomon Ndegbara alias Osama Bin Laden who has killed many people including the ones Wike is showing on television, is the same person who leaked the information to Solomon. The same Governor Wike set the stage for the violence by calling on his PDP members in Ogoni to stop Magnus Abe by all means. The word “ALL MEANS” speaks of violence and the people responded by bombing the Senatorial Office Building belonging to Senator Magnus Abe.
Solomon and his cultists ambushed the soldiers and shot at them. Definitely Solomon must have been aware that the Military Operation will take place that day.
Information has it that the notorious criminal, Solomon Ndegbara, has been meeting with Governor Wike even in Government House Port Harcourt. Governor Wike visited Bori in company of Solomon Ndegbara who has been previously declared wanted by the Police many times. What will such a person be doing on the entourage of a Governor?
Apart from planning the ambush of the soldiers, Governor Wike has continuously carried out media war against the Nigerian Military.
The All Progressives Congress, Rivers State was shocked to see the quantity of arms recovered by the Military in Solomon Ndegbara’s residence in Yeghe alone and the number of criminals arrested. That quantity and quality of arms is enough to start a war.
Governor Nyesom Wike in his wicked outburst against the Military refused to mention it, just as his Government has refused to hand over Sobomabo Jackreece to the Police. The Police had raided Sobomabo’s house in Buguma and recovered arms and ammunition and hundreds of PVC. So far the Police and Military operations have revealed that there are so many illegally acquired arms in Rivers State and this is a security risk to the nation. Also Governor NyesomWike and his team have refused to hand over the notorious Charles Ejima Igwedibia alias Donwani who has killed over 100 persons in ONELGA.
Governor Nyesom Wike and his PDP have planned a Black Day Procession in Bori, What a Shame! A Government is sponsoring a procession against itself. By the planned procession, Governor Nyesom Wike has shown without any doubt that he, his State Government and the PDP are truly the sponsors of cultisim, criminality and terrorism in Rivers State.
We commend the Police and the Military for the raids so far carried out on the criminals and urge them not to be deterred by the wicked and irresponsible outburst of Governor Wike which is only aimed at instituting criminality and causing terror in the State by hoisting cultists on the State. Governor Nyesom is turning Rivers State into another North East. Nigeria cannot fold its arms and allow that.
Governor Wike on many occasions threatened to kill Electoral Personnel who will conduct the Rerun Elections in Rivers State. The position of the All Progressives Congress, Rivers State is that Governor Wike and the PDP be called to answer questions on that statement. They should be held responsible for any violence before, during and after the Rerun Elections in Rivers State.
Governor Nyesom Wike must stop abusing President Muhammadu Buhari. Governor Nyesom Wike must stop challenging the Federal Government of Nigeria. Governor NyesomWike cannot run a State Government as if the State is a Country within the Country.
We call on all Nigerians to rise in defence of Democracy in Rivers State. We call on the National Assembly and the Federal Government to call Governor NyesomWike to order. We call on the Nigerian Police Force and the Military to continue to protect lives and property of people living in Rivers State and to bring criminal and terror activities in Rivers State to an end so that citizens will be free to exercise their rights and privileges as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
3. INSECURITY AND CRIMINAL KILLING OF APC MEMBERS IN RIVERS STATE
You will recall that the All Progressives Congress has since last year been calling the attention of the whole world to the killing of its members by agents of the PDP in Rivers State. This criminal activity has continued and has reached an alarming proportion.
We hereby draw your attention to the killings in Ogba/Ebema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, Ahoada East, Andoni, Khana and Ikwerre LGAs amongst others.
The recent incidence in Bori was planned and executed by the Governor of Rivers State in order to stop Senator Magnus Ngei Abbey from winning the forth coming Rerun Elections seeing that the entire Ogoni people have accepted the candidature of the Distinguished Senator.
The same Governor Wike who approved the Military action against criminals in Yeghe particularly Solomon Ndegbara alias Osama Bin Laden who has killed many people including the ones Wike is showing on Television, is the same person who leaked the information to Solomon. The same Governor Wike set the stage for the violence by calling on his PDP members in Ogoni to stop Magnus Abbey by all means. The word “ALL MEANS” speaks of violence and the people responded by bombing the Senatorial Office Building belonging to Senator Magnus Abbey.
Solomon and his cultists ambushed the soldiers and shot at them. Definitely Solomon must have been aware that the Military Operation will take place that day.
Information has it that the notorious criminal Solomon Ndegbara has been meeting with Governor Wike even in Government House Port Harcourt. Governor Wike visited Bori in company of Solomon Ndegbara who has been previously declared wanted by the Police many times. What will such a person be doing on the entourage of a Governor.
Apart from planning the ambush of the soldiers, Governor Wike has continuously carried out media war against the Nigerian Military.
The All Progressives Congress, Rivers State was shocked to see the quantity of arms recovered by the Military in Solomon Ndegbara’s residence in Yeghe alone and the number of criminals arrested. That quantity and quality of arms is enough to start a war.
Governor Nyesom Wike in his wicked outburst against the Military refused to mention it, just as his Government has refused to hand over Soboma Jackreece to the Police. The Police had raided Soboma’s house in Buguma and recovered arms and ammunition and hundreds of PVC. So far the Police and Military operations has revealed that there are so many illegally acquired arms in Rivers State and this is a security risk to the nation. Also Governor Nyesom Wike and his team have refused to hand over the notorious Charles Ejima Igwedibia alias Donwani who has killed over 100 persons in ONELGA.
Governor Nyesom Wike and his PDP have planned a Black Day Procession in Bori, What a Shame! A Government is sponsoring a procession against itself. By the planned procession, Governor Nyesom Wike has shown without any doubt that he, his State Government and the PDP are truly the sponsors of cultisim, criminality and terrorism in Rivers State.
We commend the Police and the Military for the raids so far carried out on the criminals and urge them not to be deterred by the wicked and irresponsible outburst of Governor Wike which is only aimed at instituting criminality and causing terror in the State by hoisting cultists on the State. Governor Nyesom is turning Rivers State into another North East. Nigeria cannot fold its arms and allow that.
Governor Wike on many occasions threatened to kill Electoral Personnel who will conduct the Rerun Elections in Rivers State. The position of the All Progressives Congress, Rivers State is that Governor Wike and the PDP be called to answer questions on that statement. They should be held responsible for any violence before, during and after the Rerun Elections in Rivers State.
Governor Nyesom Wike must stop abusing President Muhammadu Buhari. Governor Nyesom Wike must stop challenging the Federal Government of Nigeria. Governor Nyesom Wike cannot run a State Government as if the State is a Country within the Country.
We call on all Nigerians to rise in defence of Democracy in Rivers State. We call on the National Assembly and the Federal Government to call Governor Nyesom Wike to order. We call on the Nigerian Police Force and the Military to continue to protect lives and property of people living in Rivers State and to bring criminal and terror activities in Rivers State to an end so that citizens will be free to exercise their rights and privileges as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you all.