Sack of 12 council Chairmen: Wike exposes INEC as his corruption tool – Eze

In what might be a post-elections reappraisal of his dismay and awful performance in the last governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers state, Governor Nyesom Wike has sacked 12 council Chairmen and 15 party council Chairmen, in whose domains the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had woefully performed.

Indications also emerged on Friday that the governor, who was said to be apparently angry with the failure of his men to stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) backed Biokpomabo Awara of the African Action Congress (AAC) from making any major impact, is also expected to sack at least 14 of the members of his Executive Council soon.

Governor Wike and the PDP concurrently announced both the sack and suspension of the council chairmen and party chairmen respectively on Thursday, giving various reasons, Governor Wike’s own being that the axed council chairmen failed to attend state function.

The executive chairmen of local government councils reportedly ‘suspended’ by Governor Wike were those of Okrika, Emohua, Abua/Odual, Degema, Khana, Gokana, Ahoada East, Ikwerre, Eleme, Andoni, Omuma, and Ogu/Bolo.

However, a chieftain of the APC in the state, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, in a statement issued and circulated in Port Harcourt on Saturday, noted that the governor’s latest action had further exposed the criminal conspiracy between him and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the elections in the state, noting that it had become glaring that besides other tardy mistakes, including issuing pre-assigned Certificates of Return to Wike and others, the governor fired the council chairmen because they woefully lost their council areas to Awara in the real elections.

“The result of how INEC manipulated Governor Nyesom Wike into office, against the wishes of Rivers people, is becoming clearer as the governor recently sacked, uniliterally and unconstitutionally, the council chairmen of the 12 local government councils that voted against him massively during the 2019 polls. Also sacked were 15 PDP local council chairmen that allowed AAC to prevail in their areas of jurisdiction.

“The said local government areas were the ones that voted massively against PDP and Governor Nyesom Wike before INEC, in their characteristic manner, suspended the collation of the results in order to tamper with the results in favour of Governor Wike and his PDP candidates. The council areas are Okrika, Emohua, Abua/Odual, Degema, Khana, Gokana, Ahoada East, Ikwerre, Eleme, Andoni, Omuma, and Ogu/Bolo.

“Wike had during his electioneering campaign threatened to deal with any political appointee or local government that fails to vote for him and the PDP candidates so the sacking of these council chairmen on the flimsy excuse that they didn’t attend state function is an excuse meant for those who don’t understand the politics of Wikeism”, Eze said.

Eze, who has been known to be a staunch critic of the PDP regime in Rivers state, also exposed plots by Governor Wike to compensate Senator Magnus Abe for his role in depriving the APC and Rivers people a chance of contesting in the last election and having a chance to choose as they would have wanted in the last election, respectively, by appointing six of the senator’s men as part of his Thanksgiving and Inauguration Committee, even as he said Abe is being considered for his previous office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

“Governor Wike, also noted for rewarding those who identify with his type of politics, has listed six of key actors of Senator Magnus Abe divisive and destructive plot against the APC in Rivers state that resulted in her not fielding any candidate in the 2019 polls in his Thanksgiving and Inauguration Committee. These members are as follows : Hon. Marcus Nle Eji – number 10 on the list; Hon. Aye People – number 2 on the list; Mr. Felix Nweke – number 8 on the list; Mr Hamilton Robinson – number 11 on the list and Kurotamunoye Briggs – number 3 on the list

“Governor Wike who recently announced that his second term administration will be an inclusive government had Abe’s team in mind as he has promised to add some of his men into his cabinet. The office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) has been reserved for Abe, in case he fails to cajole APC into given him a ministerial appointment.

“The world can read through the type of politics that INEC has played in Rivers state and on the Rivers people”, Eze said.