•APC, PDP factions vow legal battle as gov, Atiku, others counsel LG chiefs on residents’ welfare

The Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress factions on Sunday rejected the conduct and outcome of the local government election, stating that no election was held in the state on Saturday.

The Rivers PDP loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, described the poll as an exercise in futility, vowing to challenge it in court.

The Wike camp said this as the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, swore in the newly elected council chairmen of the 23 local government areas of the state.

The exercise was held on Sunday at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, hours after the chairmen were issued certificates of return by the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Adolphus Enebeli.

The Saturday council election, which was marred by explosions and gunfire, was won by the Action Peoples Party which secured 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions, while the Action Alliance candidate won one seat.

The APP also won 314 out of the 319 councillorship seats in the 23 LGAs in the state.

The exercise was complicated by the ongoing power struggle between the Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.

After losing control of the PDP to Wike, Fubara’s supporters switched to the APP, securing chairmanship positions in their local government areas.

PDP challenges poll

Speaking to The PUNCH hours after the election winners were sworn in, the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kenneth Yowika, said the party would challenge the conduct of the poll in court.

‘’We are pressing further through the courts to ensure that justice is done and seen to have been done. So, we do not agree nor do we recognize if any swearing-in is taking place today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday),” he asserted.

Yowika said from the beginning, the ruling party in the state had insisted on the Federal High Court judgment barring the conduct of the council poll, pointing out that what the state government did was illegal.

Yowika said, “First of all everything concerning that issue is illegal. We have said it clearly that elections should not be held, you know, relying on the Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu.

“And I had said before this time that any action taken regarding the issue of the local government will be futile because if we say we are a country that stands by the rule of law, then we should not be doing things that are contrary to the law.

“The law had said do things that will be in line with the judgment of the Federal High Court and the Government of the day has not obeyed that.

“So, we are a law-abiding party. We are not going to come out physically to begin to fight. We had a protest yesterday (Saturday) clearly showing that there was no election.

“And we stand by that decision that we have taken that there was no election, and we wait for the judiciary and other arms of government that should put things in proper perspective to act. We continue to hold on that there was no election.”

Continuing, he said, “We visited the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission yesterday and clearly, the world saw that there was no election there. So, we stand by the ruling of the Federal High Court which said that that election should not go on.

“Well, they went ahead to do whatever charade people saw and that is not acceptable by the Peoples Democratic Party. Like we said we are a law-abiding party, and we stand to remain that.”

Similarly, Chibuike Ikenga, Publicity Secretary of the Chief Tony Okocha-led APC insisted on the Federal High Court judgment which restrained the state government from conducting the poll.

Ikenga also said the swearing-in of the election winners ‘is neither here nor there,’ saying the party is pressing further through with the law.

“As a party, we insist on obeying the decisions of the Federal High Court under Justice Peter Lifu. And that is the reason why we did not acknowledge that any election ever took place. But the government is known for disobedience of court order went ahead. So, they are on their own.

“Our position is that you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. So, whether anybody has been sworn in or not is secondary, we are not aware and we are not interested in whether it is taking place today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday).

“We are pressing further through the courts to ensure that justice is done and seen to have been done. So, we do not agree nor do we recognize if any swearing-in is taking place today or tomorrow,’’ he stated.

Asked if the party will return to the court based on the latest developments, he said, ‘’The state government already took the matter to the Court of Appeal where they asked for a stay and the stay was refused. So, the matter is on at the Court of Appeal.”

However, the APC loyal to the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the election, saying it would not contest the outcome.

Chizi Enyi, who is the Chief of Staff to the APC Chairman, Emeka Beke, said the party did not lose out because it won a councillor slot.

“The APC won the council slot. We are satisfied with the election held. Our biggest worry was those who said the election should not be held. So, we accept the outcome and we will not litigate it,” he said.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Environment and immediate past Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Sydney Gbara, also expressed satisfaction with the election, describing it as the freest and fairest election in the history of the state.

Gbara said, “Yes, I’m very satisfied and I can tell you that this is the freest and fairest and most peaceful election that has been conducted in Rivers State so far. The most striking thing about the election is that there was no police security yet everywhere was peaceful. That is the most interesting thing about the election.

“This is the best election that Rivers people came all out to participate in because they know that their future depends on yesterday’s election.”

Asked why he was excited even though his party did not win any slot, he said the interest of the state is paramount.

Gbara stated, “It is unfortunate that my party withdrew from the contest but as a Rivers man, the interest of the state supersedes any other interest, any personal or individual or group interest.

“For me, it is a step of liberation for the Rivers people and it is a day we have all been waiting for.”

Addressing the election winners, Fubara said the state has now entered into a season of transformation where democracy would not only thrive but the people shall witness the delivery of democratic dividends that satisfy their aspirations.

He acknowledged with great delight the support of Rivers people in the fight to salvage the local government system, according to him, ‘’it was at the precipice of doom because of the activities of some distractive political forces that wanted a grip on it.’’

He said that the pressure to destroy the LG system in Rivers State became intense three days before Election Day when an attempt was made to invade the RSIEC Headquarters.

The governor said, “But the truth remains, desperate situations require desperate measures. We were confronted with a situation where the local governments of this state was heading for doom.

“And the truth about it is, because of the genuine love that we have for this state, we must salvage the local government election. And what we did, with the support of Rivers people, was to salvage the local government council. And to the glory of God, that has been done and dusted.”

Fubara said with the elections now over, his administration would not engage in undemocratic action to confront or fight anybody.

Rather, he promised to deploy peaceful means to protect the state’s assets.

He added, “We will assure the Federal Government that we are not going to be a party to anything leading to the breakdown of law and order in this state. This is because we know quite alright that if there is a breakdown of law and order in this state, Nigeria will suffer, and we are not going to be party to it. That is the reason why our standard, in terms of maturity, was high.”

Gov admonishes chairmen

Fubara admonished the new chairmen to remain connected with the people in their council areas.

He urged them to emulate his approach to peace by being patient with the people and resolving every situation amicably.

He added, “For the newly sworn-in chairmen, I want you to see yourselves as servants. Once you see yourself as an emperor, that is where the problem begins. Once you see yourself as the one who knows it all because of the power of the fund available to you, that is where you will start seeing crisis.

“But see this opportunity as a call to service. It is an opportunity for you to bring people together and to deliver to the people of Rivers State. We need development in the 23 local government areas.”

The governor observed that his administration had provided certain critical infrastructure and other levels of development, but added that more needed to be done.