Wike vs Peterside: Battle for the soul of Rivers State

The ruling by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which nullified the April 11 governorship poll and ordered a fresh election, has reset the political permutation in the state, writes CHUKWUDI AKASIKE

Hon. Dakuku Peterside

Last week, the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal nullified the April 11 governorship election in which former Minister of Education and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Nyesom Wike, was declared the winner.

The tribunal also ordered a rerun of the poll. Except a higher court – the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court – gives a contrary ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission has been ordered to conduct a fresh poll within 90 days.

In nullifying the governorship election in the state, the tribunal held that the election of Wike failed to substantially comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

It will be recalled that INEC had declared Wike the winner of the poll with 1,029,102 votes, while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, came second with 124,896 votes and Mr. Tonye Princewill, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, got 10,142 votes.

However, Peterside and the APC had rejected the election, describing it as a sham before heading for the tribunal, which, on October 24, 2015, cancelled the election and ordered a rerun within 90 days. Swiftly, Wike and the PDP declared that they would appeal the tribunal’s judgement at the Court of Appeal.

A week after the tribunal’s ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed by Wike, challenging the authority of the state governorship election tribunal to sit in Abuja. The governor also opposed the failure of the President of the Court of Appeal to consult with the Rivers State Chief Judge and President of the Customary Court of Appeal before constituting the tribunal.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the President of the Court of Appeal had the powers to transfer the sitting of the tribunal to Abuja to safeguard the lives of the judges and their staff. The apex court also ruled that in view of the fact that Rivers had no chief judge or Customary Court of Appeal, it would have been impossible for the president of the appellate court to have consulted them before the constitution of the tribunal. The two courts’ rulings imply that the only way to change the situation is for Wike to lodge an appeal against the ruling by the tribunal.

In the event of a rerun of the election, close watchers of political events in the state say the biggest battle, again, will be between Wike and Peterside – between the PDP and the APC.

Speaking on the political situation in the state, Dr. Nfon Ekpootu of the Department of History, University of Port Harcourt, said the political scenario was already in a mess. She added that it might be difficult to get a free and fair election in Rivers.

Having lost the presidency to the APC, the PDP would not want to lose Rivers to the ruling party, she added.

The scholar explained that given the situation on ground and with the payment of workers’ and pensioners’ backlog of salaries and pensions, Wike could have the upper hand in the rerun.

Speaking on Peterside’s chances, Ekpootu pointed out that though Peterside possessed the qualities of a gentleman, he might not be rugged and experienced enough to handle the situation in the state.

Ekpootu said, “To speak on who may become the governor in the event that there is a rerun is difficult because the political scenario in the state is messed up. If we have a well laid-out standard in terms of having a free and fair election, then it will be easy to predict who will win in a rerun.

“There is no doubt that the PDP and the APC will not let go. The PDP, after losing out at the centre, will not want to lose Rivers to the APC. However, a rerun will not change the problem of rigging because we may still see electoral malpractices and that is why it is difficult to say if the PDP or the APC will win.

Nyesom Wike

“In a free and fair election, Wike may get the people’s sympathy. Again, people may also want to look at Peterside, but he has to have a rugged sense of politics; it is not just about being a gentleman: he must be diplomatic, have good control and be ‘rugged.’ Being ‘rugged’ does not mean that we want bad people to lead the state. Rivers is not like other states; it is strategic to the country.”

A public affairs analyst and human rights activist, Dr. Jackson Omenazu, who has a different view different from Ekpootu’s, stated that the state would not allow a particular tribe to lead the state for 16 years, adding that the PDP candidate is from Ikwerre, the same tribe with the past governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who led the state for eight years.

According to Omenazu, such thinking will determine where the pendulum will swing.

He said, “There is no doubt that if there is a rerun in Rivers today, the pendulum will swing towards the APC. In this state, it will be morally wrong for a particular tribe to rule the state for 16 years. Without the (alleged) hoodwinking by the former President (Goodluck Jonathan) and his wife, and the unleashing of ‘federal might’ on the state in the last election, the APC would have won.

“Amaechi’s influence can never be ruled out. Everybody knows the truth that Rivers people will queue behind the APC in a free and fair election.”

A Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Mr. Onyebuchi Ibeme, however, told SUNDAY PUNCH that it was too early to predict how the rerun would go, saying he does not see the PDP losing its appeal against the tribunals ruling.

Ibeme described the two candidates – Wike and Peterside – as strong and popular, maintaining that many factors may come up within the mandatory 90 days given for the preparation of election in case the need for a rerun was confirmed.

He, however, called for a free and fair election to determine who was the most accepted by the people of the state.

Ibeme said, “If there is a rerun, it will be difficult to predict a winner because the two candidates that are the frontrunners are popular. All we pray is for the system to allow a free and fair election so that we can know who is more popular than the other. For now, I cannot say who will win because many factors will come into play within the 90 days.”

Earlier both the PDP and the APC in the state had boasted about winning the governorship election in case there is a rerun. The Chairman of the PDP in Rivers, Mr. Felix Obuah, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jerry Needam, had stated that though the PDP believed that the ruling by the tribunal would be upturned by the Court of Appeal, it would win the poll even if it was conducted many times.

Obuah said with the current governor paying arrears of salaries owed workers, pensioners, sportsmen and students on scholarship, the people of the state would “naturally” vote for him.

He said, “If in March and April 2015 when elections were held, all council chairmen and councilors were in the APC and the PDP won, what would happen now that the PDP has the advantage?”

But the state APC asked Wike and the PDP to jettison the idea of appealing the nullification of the governorship poll. The Chairman of the APC in Rivers, Dr. Davies Ikanya, stated that Wike was aware that it would be impossible to beat Peterside in a free and fair election.

He said, “In a free and fair election, the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, will beat him (Wike) so mercilessly that he will lose his deposit. If Wike and the PDP are convinced that they truly won any election in Rivers, we challenge them not to appeal the tribunal judgement and let the people of the state decide their fate in a free and fair election.”

Ikanya, who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, added that the people of the state were expecting a rerun that would be devoid of shooting, killing and maiming that marred the last exercise.

In his assessment of the political situation, Mr. Victor Borubo, a Rivers-based media practitioner, said it would be too early to predict who would win the election should there be a rerun. He said people would begin to think of a rerun only after the appellate court had upheld the decision of the lower court (the tribunal) on the election.

Nevertheless, Borubo maintained that the race would be “a very close one” because the scenario would be different, especially as it concerned the personnel of INEC that would conduct the election.

He said, “At this stage, it will be too early to predict who will win the election in case there is a rerun. Do not forget that the Appeal Court still has to give its verdict on the decision of the tribunal.

“Of course, the scenario and atmosphere will be different this time around; that is if there will be a rerun of the governorship election. Even, the current personnel of INEC will be changed; they will be transferred to give room for a credible election to take place in the state. The people of the state are in need of a credible election.”

Borubo also appealed to politicians in the state to allow the people make their choice as such an exercise was targeted at choosing who would represent them. He stated that those who were not ready to abide by the dictates of the Electoral Act should not be part of the rerun if it was upheld by the highest court in the land.

“The politicians should allow peace to reign. A situation where voters would be intimidated will always discourage them from voting. But like I said, we are not sure yet if there will be a rerun until probably the matter is decided by the apex court (Supreme Court),” Borubo stressed.

Similarly, a businessman based in Port Harcourt, James Ehule, told SUNDAY PUNCH that a rerun in Rivers would be interesting because INEC would concentrate on the state alone, since other reruns would not hold the same day. He maintained that it would be difficult for anybody to engage in ballot snatching or other forms of electoral fraud because security personnel would be everywhere.

According to Ehule, if there is a rerun, anybody that emerges will be the authentic governor and there will be no need for anybody to challenge the outcome in court. “But it will be interesting because the whole nation will now focus her attention on Rivers State,” he added.

On the likely outcome of the rerun, Ehule pointed out that Wike stood a better chance of winning if the courts called for a rerun. He said his argument was based on the governor’s performance since he was sworn in to office. According to the businessman, the people of the state are still not happy over the way Jonathan lost the presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The people of Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta region are still angry over the way they lost the presidency to the APC and that is why Wike may enjoy the sympathy of the these people when it comes to a possible rerun of the governorship election. Rivers is known to be a PDP state and that is why it will be difficult for the APC to win here (in the state),” he added.

In his opinion, radio commentator, Douglas Onyenwe, disagreed with Ehule. He recalled that there was “an open external interference” during the last election that was nullified by the tribunal, adding that the APC may want to take its pound of flesh using the same alleged unwholesome tactic embraced by the PDP in the state during the April 11 election.

Onyenwe said, “We cannot be unmindful of the fact that the APC is at the centre and occupying the position of the Federal Government. That was not the case when the last governorship election was held in Rivers. It is very easy to notice that the APC candidates here, including the governorship candidate, were like orphans because nobody listened to their complaints of brazen election malpractices against them.

“INEC was allegedly involved; some security agents were involved and nothing happened to address the situation, even when Amaechi cried to high heavens that the elections were far from Nigerian standard, not to talk of international standard. But today, take a look at what is happening; the possibility of a rerun where INEC will know that it must do its job well. I do not belong to any of the political parties but I love the guts of the former governor.”

Onyenwe, however, maintained that Peterside would win a possible rerun if he and his party prepared well for the exercise. He urged INEC and other security agencies to shun the temptation of doing the bidding of the Federal Government and allow peoples’ votes to count.

The National Coordinator of Niger Delta Peoples Mandate Forum, Mr. Ifeanyi Dike, has a different view from that of Onyenwe. He said should election be held today, Wike would win fair and square. He explained that the embattled governor had been able to capture the attention of the people with the completion of some road projects in the state within the past five months.

He said, “INEC will give 90 days for everybody to prepare for the election. But if a rerun is held today, Wike will win. If it is done within three months, it will be a 50-50 chance between Peterside and Wike. Don’t also forget that Wike has more foot soldiers than the APC in the state.”

A lawmaker in the state’ Assembly, Mr. Evans Bipi, said he was not expecting a rerun of the governorship election. Bipi, who represents Ogu/Bolo State Constituency, however noted that Wike would emerge victorious if the courts called for a rerun.

Describing the governor as “a grass roots man,” Bipi boasted that a rerun of the election would afford the PDP the opportunity of showing the world that Wike’s victory in the last election was not a fluke. He said the people of the state were ready to come out and vote again for the governor.

A lecturer in one of the higher institutions in the state, Dr. Paul Kennedy, however, described Peterside as a household name in the state. He stated that the unwritten agreement on rotation of the governorship position would give the APC candidate an edge over Wike. He added that the riverine areas in the state would begin to mobilise for Peterside, based on the principle of rotation of power in the state.

He explained that Peterside remained “generally acceptable” to the people of the state, adding that a free and fair election will prove him right.

“Peterside is the person that is generally acceptable. There is no way the PDP will win the governorship election in a free and fair contest. Even in all the over 4,000 polling unit and in every part of the state, Peterside is already a household name.

“If the election held last time was credible, there was no way Peterside would not have emerged the governor of the state. But we will take solace in the fact that there will be a rerun and the people will have the opportunity to come out and vote. Some of the APC supporters could not come out to vote because of the fear of being harassed by political thugs,” Kennedy noted.

Wike vs Peterside: Battle for the soul of Rivers State