Rivers APC seeks postponement of presidential, governorship poll in state

…Says Wike is jittery

By Patrick Okohue

Following the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt ruling which issued a stay of execution of a High Court order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 general elections in Rivers State, the APC in the state has called on INEC to postpone the February 16 and March 2 elections in Rivers. Making the call in Port Harcourt, the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Chief Victor Giadom, accused Rivers governor, Chief Nyesom Wike of being jittery upon confirmation the governorship candidate of APC in the state, Pastor Tonye Cole and other candidates that emerged through indirect primaries supervised by members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, would participate in the elections. Giadom stated these while assuring Cole and other candidates of APC that they would emerge victorious in the polls, maintaining that postponing the elections would ensure the candidates and the electorate were not disenfranchised. But, the Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, who doubles as the Director of Information and Communications of PDP Campaign Council, however maintained that Wike and other candidates of the ruling party were neither afraid nor jittery of main opposition APC’s candidates or candidates of other political parties, having campaigned extensively and fully prepared for the polls. The appeal court presided over by Justice Ali Gumel granted the stay of execution of the judgment of Justice Kolawole Omotoso of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on the fielding of candidates by the APC. Giadom, who is also the immediate past Deputy National Secretary of the APC, said: “Wike is jittery, because of the strength of APC in Rivers State. That is why he teamed up with some enemies of democracy to ensure that our party (APC) is not on the ballot, but God has put all of them to shame. Wike made all efforts, including outside the law, to stop APC from fielding candidates in Rivers State. “Wike and his allies must stop their propaganda and futile fights, but to prepare to meet candidates of APC in the field. APC will win 80 per cent of the votes cast in Rivers State in all the elections, because Rivers people are tired of Wike’s failed promises,” he said. It will be recalled that theruling followed the appeal against the January 7, 2019 order of Justice Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court by the parties in the matter The state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking an order to compel INEC to obey the judgment of a State High Court, which nullified the congresses and primaries of the APC in Rivers. The court waved the jurisdiction issue raised to puncture the petition by Abe and others and brought before it by their counsel, Mr. Henry Bello. It declared that it was not in the place of the appellate court to determine whether the primaries in contention had been completed when INEC, which is a party in the matter, did not file a counter-affidavit on the application served it. The court considered the affidavit and responses of the contending parties and based on their peculiarity, granted the stay of execution order.