PDP to Wike Amid Rivers Crisis: Fubara Is Our Hero, Take It to Court

PDP stands firm behind Governor Fubara, calling him a hero while urging Nyesom Wike to seek legal action in resolving the Rivers crisis.

The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticized Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for his recent comments regarding the recently concluded local government election in the state.

In an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday, Wike reportedly expressed his displeasure with Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s decision to proceed with the Saturday election despite a court ruling.

Remember that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ruled that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) breached necessary provisions by failing to publish the required 90-day notice before setting an election date.

The court prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission from providing the voter register to RSIEC for conducting the election.

Justice Lifu also prohibited the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Service (DSS) from offering security for the elections.

The ruling was a result of the lawsuit filed by the state chapter of APC, challenging RSIEC’s decision to schedule the elections for October 5.

However, the election took place on Saturday as instructed by Governor Fubara.

The governor’s loyalists, who ran for chairmanship positions with the Action Peoples Party (APP), secured victories in 22 of the state’s 23 local government areas.

The state has witnessed several violent confrontations between supporters of Wike and Fubara both during the election and in its aftermath.

On Monday, individuals suspected of being supporters of Wike reportedly set fire to the Ikwerre Local Government secretariat.

Gunshots were reported in various secretariats as political thugs attempted to block the newly elected council leaders from entering their offices.

In his initial public response to the controversies, Wike accused Fubara of undermining Nigerian democracy by failing to comply with the court ruling.

The former governor also claimed that Fubara’s attempt to oust the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Martin Amaewhule, sparked the ongoing crisis.

In a swift response, the PDP in the state encouraged the Minister and his supporters to pursue legal action if they were dissatisfied with the election results.

He stated, “We recognize that no court ruling can halt an electoral process. We understand that if someone is dissatisfied with an election, they have the option to go to court after it has taken place. Therefore, they should pursue legal action.”

Let’s revisit the past: conducting the local government election was one of the commitments made in President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 presidential peace proclamation. Wike and his supporters have been eager to see this election take place.

At one point, they went so far as to instruct the assembly to impeach Fubara if he refused to conduct the election. Now it’s surprising that after RSIEC released the election timetable, those same individuals are doing everything in their power to halt it.

READ ALSO:Rivers Crisis: Wike Urges Fubara to Obey Court Judgment for Peace Restoration

The conversation should begin here, rather than focusing on whether there was a court judgment.

At one point, the assembly extended the terms of the previous Local Government Chairmen, marking a first in Nigerian democratic history. Now that the governor has announced his readiness for elections, those same individuals are contradicting themselves by arguing against holding them.

“What mistakes has Governor Fubara made? The Supreme Court ruled against caretaker committees, mandating that every state must have elected local government chairpersons within 90 days. Otherwise, the state risks losing its funding allocation.”

Governor Fubara is simply complying with the Supreme Court’s decision. Anyone attempting to disrupt this process does not have the best interests of Rivers people in mind.

Sydney Gbara called Fubara a hero, emphasizing that “he will remain our hero for his steadfast commitment to upholding democracy in Rivers State.”

Innocent people were brutally killed in an attempt to disrupt the electoral process. However, they were too late because the people of Rivers had already chosen to support Fubara and move forward.