Reacting to the local government election held in Rivers State on Saturday, the former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said residents of the state have established the beauty of democracy.
According to him, the people have rejected political oppression, harassment, and self-serving godfathers.
Atiku stated this while reacting to the outcome of the Rivers LG election results on his Twitter page (Now X):
“With the conclusion of the local government election in Rivers State, the shadows of political intimidation and judicial chicanery have dissipated, paving the way for the noble pursuit of governance to commence in the State.
“As prophesied, it has now been revealed that the citizens of Rivers are astute and resolute, unwavering in their rejection of any form of political oppression, harassment, or the machinations of self-serving godfathers.”
Atiku noted that Governor Fubara safeguarded the sanctity of the local government elections even amidst provocative challenges.
Similarly, 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.
NEW CHAIRMEN SWORN IN AS WIKE’S FACTION HEADS TO COURT
Meanwhile, the Rivers state Governor Siminalayi Fubara has sworn in the newly elected council chairmen and councilors on Sunday.
22 chairmen from the Action Peoples Party (APP) and one from the Action Alliance (AA) were Inaugurated into office.
The AA candidate Uzodinma Nwafor defeated the APP to win the chairmanship election in the Etche local government area.
However, the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress factions loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital territory, Nyesom Wike have rejected the conduct and outcome of the local government election, stating that no election was held in the state on Saturday.
They described the poll as an exercise in futility, vowing to challenge it in court.
Reacting 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).
“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.”
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.
“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 asserted.
