Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed opposition criticism of the recent local government elections in Rivers State, insisting the polls were legitimate and not declared illegal by any court.
Speaking during a media parley on Monday, Wike reacted strongly to comments made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, who had described the elections as unlawful.
According to Wike, the elections were duly conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and praised for being peaceful and transparent.
He said:
“Listen, I don’t blame Atiku; he didn’t know that his boss signed the emergency rule in 2004. If he knew, if he was obedient and working along with his boss, who was [former] President Olusegun Obasanjo, he would have known that the President has the power to make regulations for the governance of emergency areas.
“So, he was not in tune. He doesn’t know, and as I said, what you don’t know, don’t comment about it. If Atiku had comments about Customs, I know he has worked in Customs. I can give it to him, but this is law.
“He doesn’t know that the 2024 emergency rule was signed by his boss.”
Wike also took a swipe at Atiku’s frequent movement across political parties, questioning his consistency.
“Look at the man; look at his antecedents. In 1999, he was in the PDP. In 2007, he ran on the platform of the Action Congress. In 2011, he came back to the PDP to run for the presidential ticket; he left.
“In 2014, he went to APC; he ran for the presidency. In 2017, he came back to the PDP, became the candidate in 2019, and became the candidate in 2023.
“Now, he has left for the ADC to seek the presidency. Did they prescribe a drug for the presidency for him?”
Turning to Peter Obi, Wike said the Labour Party leader lacked the moral right to condemn the polls.
“Now take Peter Obi. He said rascality. Who can be more [of a] rascal than Obi? Obi became the governor of Anambra State for eight years. He conducted local government elections two months before or when he left office — eight years as governor.
“Does he have what it takes to comment about the conduct of an election that was properly done and backed up by law?”
The former Rivers governor further alleged that opposition leaders were unhappy because Rivers State was no longer a source of political funding.
“Their anger is that they are looking for where they will get funding, and now it’s no longer available in Rivers State. They have no capacity or moral to even talk about it.
“Look at the conduct of the election. You have seen people saying that for the first time in our history, no gunshot, no carrying of boxes, no kidnapping of returning officers.
“And nobody wants to come back and commend security agencies and RSIEC. You are only saying it’s illegal. It is illegal for you. The court has not pronounced it illegal,” he stated.
The Rivers State council elections were held on Saturday across 23 local government areas. RSIEC announced on Sunday that the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured victories in 20 councils, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in three LGAs.
