Nyesom Wike whose election was nullified by the
Rivers state petition tribunal yesterday October 24th,
has addressed the state in a broadcast. He said
irrespective of the tribunal's verdict, he still remains
governor of the state. He reaffirmed his position to
appeal the Tribunal's decision. Read the full text of
his broadcast after the cut.
1. My dear people of Rivers State
It is with a profound sense of concern and
responsibility that I address you over the judgment
of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition
Tribunal delivered on Saturday, October 24, 2015,
purportedly nullifying my election and return as the
duly and lawfully elected Governor of our State.
2. We all know that on April 11, 2015, Rivers
people in their millions joined the rest of the country
and enthusiastically participated in electing their
Governor and members of the State House of
Assembly.
3. Apart from the reported malfunctioning of the
card readers supplied by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), which placed no
advantage on any of the contestants, the election
took place throughout the State and was adjudged
both by local and international observers to be
largely peaceful, transparent, free, fair and credible.
4. Following the success of the election, I was
returned as duly and lawfully elected by the INEC,
having satisfied all the necessary legal requirements.
5. However, following the petitions by my friend,
the APC gubernatorial candidate and his party, and
despite the woeful failure of the Petitioners to
discharge the burden of proof with respect to their
contradictory, wild and false allegations against the
conduct of the election, the State Governorship
Election Petition Tribunal nullified my election on the
basis of INEC’s alleged infraction of its
administrative guidelines on the use of card readers.
6. It is common knowledge that INEC’s card readers
malfunctioned throughout the country in the 2015
general elections. It is also common knowledge that
wherever the card reader malfunctioned, manual
accreditation, which is the only process, recognized
by the current Electoral Act, was used to accredit
voters all over the country.
7. So far I am not aware of any State where the
election was postponed as a result of failure of card
readers. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal in Agbaje
v Ambode clearly stated that the partial or non-use
of card readers is not the basis for the cancellation
of an election.
8. Yet, against all legal odds and the grains of
logic, the Tribunal in its wisdom decided to accord
undue legal weight to the straw of statements around
the use or non-use of card readers to support its
decision in the face of a hopelessly bad case of the
Petitioners.
9. As we all know, our judicial system is built on
the doctrine of hierarchy of courts in which lower
courts are bound by the decisions of courts higher in
hierarchy on the same or similar issues. It is
therefore strange for the Rivers State Governorship
Election Tribunal to arrive at a decision that negates
subsisting judgments of the Court of Appeal or the
Supreme Court.
10. Being an implacable believer in the majesty of
our judicial system as the last hope of the common
man, I have implicit confidence in the ability of the
appellate courts to correct the mistakes of the
Tribunal and right the wrong that has been done to
our collective psyche and aspiration.
11. Accordingly, I have since instructed my team of
lawyers to immediately commence the appeal process
and have the decision of the Rivers State
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal upturned for
good.
12. At this point, I appeal to all our supporters
across the state and beyond to remain calm and go
about their legitimate duties in a peaceful manner.
There is no cause for alarm.
13. By virtue of the Constitution and the Electoral
Act, I am still your Governor and will remain your
Governor until the exhaustive conclusion of the appeal
process at the Supreme Court.
14. Therefore, be assured that your mandate, which
you freely gave to the Peoples Democratic Party and
my humble self, is intact, safe and secure. God will
not allow your mandate to come to naught.
15. I wish to thank the people of Rivers State for
the unwavering support I have enjoyed from you
since the beginning of the struggle to this moment. I
am highly humbled with the show of solidarity from
all and sundry and in particular, the confidence in
our ability to move the State forward, and the
overwhelming satisfaction with what we are already
doing as our government to reposition the State.
16. I wish to further assure you that my team and I
will not be distracted by this minor irritation. We
shall remain focused on our vision and continue to
deliver on our fundamental promises on improving
security, massive development of infrastructure and
socio-economic empowerment in Rivers State.
17. Finally, be assured that by the special grace of
God, we shall ultimately prevail over our
adversaries, retain our mandate and return the glory
to God Almighty our Maker and Refuge.
18. Thank you and May God continue to bless
Rivers State
