You goofed, INEC chair, Yakubu never worked under me, Wike tackles Amaechi

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has refuted the allegation by former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi that Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, once worked under him as a Minister.

 

He noted that Amaechi spurious claim of opposing  the reappointment of Yakubu because he was nominated by someone in the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s  camp of the APC, was tantamount to public incitement and a threat to national security.

 

Wike, in a state broadcast on the outcome of the March 18th, 2023, governorship and house of assembly elections in Rivers State on Tuesday, said Amaechi’s outburst that the just conducted general elections by INEC was  the worst in Nigeria’s history, is ludicrous.

 

“The truth was that Mahmood Yakubu never worked under me. Both of us worked in the Federal Ministry of Education. He was the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, supervised by the Minister of Education, while I was the Minister of State for Education.

 

“At any rate, was Mahmood Yakubu INEC’s chairman in the 2015 general elections in Rivers State when we defeated him and his political party as a sitting Governor and Director-General of Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Campaign?

“Was it not the same Mahmood Yakubu that conducted the 2019 general election, which the APC and President Mohammadu Buhari won? Was he working for Atiku Abubakar of the PDP when, as a sitting super Minister of Transportation, he could not win 25% for President Buhari in Rivers State in the 2019 general election?  Wike wondered why it took this long for Amaechi , who served as a  minister for over seven years under President Buhari to speak out about his opposition to Mahmood Yakubu’s reappointment.

He observed that in his frustration, Amaechi had publicly denounced and claimed to know so much bad things about the federal government that he served for seven years. But, regrettably, he lacked the courage to tell Nigerians what he claimed to know about Buhari’s government, which he alleged had totally failed.

 

“In saner climes, law enforcement agencies should have invited such a devious and malignant character for hate speech, public incitement and threat to national security, public safety and order. By his mischievous statements, Rotimi Amaechi attempted to attribute, locate and blame his infamous political failures and frustrations in Rivers State on the INEC’s chairman.

 

“In the 2015 general elections, we defeated him as a sitting Governor and Director-General of the Buhari campaign in Rivers State. In the 2019 general elections, we beat him as President Buhari’s super Minister and Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign.

 

“He could not even influence 25% of the votes for his party, even after using the army to cause mayhem and attempt to rig the election. In 2023, we defeated him as an ordinary person. This shows that Rotimi Amaechi cannot win any electoral contest with us in Rivers State.”

 

Wike stressed that the outcome of the 2023 general elections  in Rivers State has again exposed Amaechi, the APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole and his Social Democratic Party counterpart, Senator Magnus Abe as political paperweights and rejects.

 

“The APC Gubernatorial candidate, Tonye Cole, lost in his Ward and Local Government Area. He lost in almost all electoral units, wards and Local Government Areas of the State. Tonye Cole never ran any effective political campaigns. His party was fractured beyond redemption. He was literarily waiting for his godfather and business partner, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi to magically make him Governor.

 

“Rotimi Amaechi also lost to the PDP in his community, Ubima, his Ward and the Local Government Area. Both forgot that Rivers people knew them as an evil partnership that diverted the State’s $50,000,000.00 and declined overwhelmingly to vote for them.”

 

Wike, further said the electoral fate of the SDP candidate, Senator Magnus Abe, who lost woefully in 15 out of 17 wards in his native Gokana Local Government Area, was also not better.

 

“Magnus’s vaunting ambition was to have a chance to be named on the ballot as a gubernatorial candidate of any party, having twice been denied the APC by his former friend, political leader and associate, Rotimi Amaechi. He achieved this limited and useless ambition when he hurriedly decamped from the APC to the SDP.”

 

He challenged Abe to explain to the world his relationship with Lebara Nduh, the INEC Director of Security, who availed him and his supporters with fake INEC security tags.

Wike thanked Rivers voters as the results already announced by the INEC show that the PDP won 31 of the 32 State House of Assembly constituencies and its governorship candidate, Sir Siminalayi Fubara had been declared the governor-elect.

 

He has however, extended olive branch to the opposition to move Rivers State forward. According to him, he had also received assurance from the governor-elect of his willingness to work with the opposition to advance the interests of the State. He also appreciated the security agencies’ professionalism throughout the elections and has promised that the State Government will defray the medical expenses of any security personnel injured during the elections.

 

He congratulated  all PDP governors-elects nationwide for their electoral victories. He said now that the elections are over, PDP members desperately need to close ranks and work together to reclaim, rebuild, and reposition the party based on equity, fairness and justice to serve and advance the country’s unity, security, and progress, according to a statement by Kelvin Ebiri. Special Assistant on Media to the Rivers State governor.

 

.’Fubara’s victory reaffirms Rivers as PDP’s stronghold

Governor Wike has said Rivers State has once again reasserted itself as one of premier strongholds of the PDP in the country following the victory of Sir Siminalayi Fubara as governor-elect.

He noted that despite evil machination of the opposition, the PDP has consistently won all the governorship elections in the State since 2015.

 

Wike stated these shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Fubara as the winner of the 2023 governorship election on Monday night.

Fubara, who was the PDP candidate polled 302,614 votes to defeat is closest rival, Mr. Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who had 95,274 votes. The Social Demcratic Party candidate, Senator Magnus Abe came a distant third with 46,981.

Wike , who was visibly excited by the Fubara’s resounding victory, told PDP leaders at the Government House, Port Harcourt  that the State will continue to remain pivotal to the successes of the PDP.

 

 

 

“Whom God has blessed, no one can curse. There is nothing anyone can do about it. God at this time has said Siminalayi Fubara will be the next governor, and we give God the glory today that, that has happened.

“We won 23 local governments, 23 over 23. It has never happened. Out of the 32 State constituencies, we have won 31, it is remaining one that they said we will go for bye-election. We are ready and we will take that one.

“So, we have said to anybody who cares,  Rivers State is PDP. When you annoy us, we do another thing. When we wanted to vote for the unity of the country, we showed it. We didn’t do anti party, but we voted for unity of the country and that is what we did for one Nigeria.”

Wike, who dedicated the electoral victories of the PDP in the just concluded general elections to Almighty God and the people of Rivers State, commended party stalwarts for remaining steadfast in defence of the State since he assumed office in 2015.

“Let me thank all of you for the support you have given us, how you stood firm to make sure that we defend what is Rivers State.  In 2015, we did it, in 2019, we did it and in 2023, we have done it again. So, it is not surprising, God has always been with us.”

 

He said he will remain eternally grateful to God because when he first contested for the office of governor in 2015, his predecessor, Chibuike Amaechi was the incumbent, and was antagonistic to his political aspiration.

The governor while mocking his predecessor for restoring to divisive and disgusting politicking during the electioneering period, said the resounding victory of the PDP has further diminished his political relevance in Rivers State.

“When we came out in 2015, we were not in government. There was a governor (Amaechi) then in 2015. He was the Director General (DG) of (Muhammadu) Buhari campaign. In 2019, he was a super Minister and was also DG of Buhari campaign. He never gave him (Buhari) 25 percent. 2015, he never gave him 25 percent.

“This is 2023, and they cannot get 25 percent vote in the State, we have also defeated him. You were a super governor, we defeated you. You were a super minister, we defeated you, now, you are a super nobody, we defeated you.”

Wike, has however, cautioned PDP members not to be complacent because the opposition which he likened to “enemies” are still prowling around.

In his acceptance speech, the governor-elect, Sir. Fubara, who was accompanied by his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, thanked God for his electoral victory and assured that his administration will consolidate on Wike’s New Rivers Vision.

 

“We are going to work with everybody who believes in the New Rivers Vision to continue to build better lives, good services, protection of the dignity of every Rivers man and woman, protection of the integrity of this state in all phases  and to make sure that we continue to defend our party in this state.

“Our vision is simple, it is anchored on the New Rivers Vision. We are to continue, to improve and to develop more on it.  I want to thank the leadership of the party and the good people of Rivers State who believed in the New Rivers vision and ensured that the vision is the right vision. On the 18th of March, 2023 they supported us, they came out in their large numbers and voted for the unity and progress of this state.”