A chieftain of All Progressives Congress APC in Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has commended the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission, Nigeria over its comprehensive report of events building up to the 2023 elections in Rivers State.
He described the period in the state then as “where threats, violent attacks, intimidation, denials and other restrictive measures were meted-out on electorates, opposition parties and candidates particularly, the All Progressives Congress and its Governorship Candidate, Tonye Cole”.
In a statement made available to the media, the APC chieftain indicted the former Governor Nyesom Wike saying he was not alone in what he (Eze) described as “his vengeful acts and personal vendetta against democracy and rule of law.”
The EU in the report released last week stated; “EU observers recorded denials of access to opposition candidates to state-owned stadiums and school premises, selectively imposed excessive venue fees, as well as cases of some roads being temporarily blocked, and party offices closed to impede campaigning by opponent candidates.”
The report also captured that in some other cases, thugs suspected to be loyal to the governor unleashed mayhem at opposition events and invaded the residence of his rivals.
And in what many termed a gross abuse of office, Mr Wike withdrew the occupancy titles of private properties and sealed campaign offices of his political rivals, setting an unbecoming low for a former aspirant to the office of the president.
Describing the report as a severe indictment on Nigeria’s democracy, the APC chieftain said the revelation could raise questions on the efficacy of Nigerian laws, especially our criminal jurisprudence which defines offences and prescribes punishment for offenders like Wike, if not properly handled.
Eze alleged that according to the EU Report which properly captured Wike’s onslaught against opposition parties and political adversaries before and during the elections, the former Governor used denial of campaign venues and other restrictive measures to manipulate the 2023 election in Rivers State.
He recalled how Late Chiosom Lenard, an APC Campaign Coordinator for Ahoada East Local Government Area and several others within the Ahoada area and other parts of the state lost their lives on election day in defense of democracy saying that political thugs who were moving round polling units and carting away electoral materials for the PDP and their candidates rained bullets on the APC faithful who had attempted to resist their mission.
“It is unfortunate to learn that while those blood thirsty mortals who had perpetrated the evil walk freely on the streets, their principals move around with security escorts because the hands of the law seems too short to bring them to justice”, Eze stated.
He advised that politics should not be a safe playground for desperate fortune-chasers who undermine rules and trample on rights in pursuit of aspirations, pointing out that matters of such should ordinarily set the DSS in motion to unravel further details and prosecute persons fingered as culprits in the electoral heist which has now caused the country a global embarrassment.
Eze however regretted that the named perpetrator who should be subjected to security investigation and prosecution was busy jumping from one office to another in Abuja lobbying for appointments from President Tinubu, as if nothing had happened.
He called on the President to keep the Rivers politician at arms-length and avoid crowding himself with opportunists, rule breakers with scars of global indictment, smear campaigners, desperados and low-brained politicians who are unfit and have absolutely nothing to offer in the contemporary Nigerian society rather than constituting a clog on the wheel of progress.
The revelation by EU, Eze said has generated quite a number of reactions and severe punitive measures against the controversial Rivers politician including visa ban, must be recommended to serve as lesson to other election thieves and deter others who may feel attracted to his callous and disdainful impertinence.
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