Transportation Minister Amaechi has described Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike as a threat to democracy and free and fair elections in the state.
Amaechi, the immediate past governor of the state, cited the re-run in his Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) which he said was inconclusive “because thugs sent by Wike violently disrupted the collation of votes for the LGA.”
He was reacting to allegations by Wike in THISDAY yesterday in which the governor claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was plotting to release some of the results in the eight local government areas in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amaechi dismissed the governor’s allegation as riotous, disgraceful and shameful.
It quoted the minister as saying: “You would recall that Wike has been threatening INEC and INEC officials. Before the re-run elections, he threatened INEC officials coming to conduct the elections to write their wills before coming as if they were coming to die in Rivers State.
“Sadly, an INEC ad hoc staff, a youth corper was murdered. This is a classic case of the owl crying in the night and the baby not waking up in the morning.
“He threatened INEC before the elections and an INEC official sent to conduct election was murdered on election day, what other evidence do we need to know who is responsible for the death of the INEC official?”
“Wike is loose cannon, threatening INEC with violence, fire and brimstone. This is intolerable and completely unacceptable. No democracy can survive with Wike’s kind of attitude and disposition to elections.
“Wike can’t just go on and on threatening crisis, war and more violence just because of his desperation to win elections.”
On Amaechi’s LGA, Ikwerre LGA elections that Wike claimed PDP won, the Minister said: “The problem in Ikwerre LGA elections was caused by the same Wike who sent his goons to the LGA collation centre to disrupt the collation.
“The collating officer for the LGA, Dr. Allwell Egeonu told the press and it is on video, that he was lucky to escape alive as thugs, hoodlums invaded the Ikwerre LGA collation centre in Isiokpo, that they were shooting for over 30 minutes and everybody had to run for their lives.
“The Wike goons took away all the materials. According to the INEC Collating official, nothing was collated in Ikwerre LGA. And this man’s story is on tape. He spoke to the media.
“The Collating Officer for Ikwerre LGA also went to the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) in Rivers State, reported what happened and also wrote about it to the State REC.”
“So what result for Ikwerre LGA is Wike talking about? The man INEC sent to collate the results for the LGA, Dr. Egeonu says there is no result for the LGA because he didn’t collate anything, yet Wike is all over the place disgracing himself that Amaechi lost his LGA.
“He’s all over the place, threatening crisis, threatening INEC with fire and brimstone, for INEC to release a result that does not even exist, in the first place. You can now understand the kind of desperate fellow we are dealing with here. This must not be allowed to continue. Wike cannot hold an entire state, hostage. He’s a clear danger and threat to the practice of democracy, and free and fair elections in Rivers State.”
