The immediate past Governor of Rivers State,Nyesom Wike has accused the sitting Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the architect of violence that rocked the state on Monday, a day after new chairmen of local government areas in the state were inaugurated.
Penpushing reports that it is recalled that suspected political thugs who were dissatisfied with the conduct of the Saturday council election, set ablaze Ikwerre, Emohua, and Eleme local government secretariats.
The former Governor who is now Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is said to opposed the conduct of the local election, and mobilised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to boycott the exercise, citing a court order.
Penpushing further reports that the election, however was held amidst conflicting court orders, where a Federal High Court in Abuja barred Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing voters’ registers to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The court in similar development barred the police from providing security for the election, but a State High Court in Rivers ordered the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to conduct the election.
Penpushing also reports that the Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun on his part barred operatives from providing security for the election in compliance with the federal court’s order, and I response Governor Fubara said that the court barred the police from providing security for the election but did not say the police should prevent the election.
The former governor, however, argued that the governor does not obey the rule of law, emphasizing that the rule of law is the only thing that can bring peace to the state.
“Obeying the rule of law: you must obey the judgments of the court. The moment you don’t obey court judgement you are inviting destruction and anarchy. The governor came on national television to say he will not obey the court judgement.
‘He said there’s no way in the court judgment that the court says the election should not be held. He (Mr Fubara) went as far as saying he does not need police to conduct an election,” Mr Wike said. If you don’t obey the rule of law, if you don’t obey court judgments, you are breeding anarchy,” Mr Wike added.
Penpushing reports that Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Wike are battling each other for the control of political structure in the state, while at the council poll, the Action Peoples Party,(APP) whose platform Fubara’s loyalists contested, won 22 chairmanship seats while Action Alliance won one seat.
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