Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike says that he was confident about the confirmation of his re-election by the Supreme Court because the defeated governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Mr Biokpomabo Awara, could not have won an election he did not contest.
In an interview at the weekend, Governor Wike said the election was no contest because the AAC candidate was unknown to the people of Rivers.
Governor Wike claims he only got to know of Awara about two days to the election, saying that the candidate was never prominent in Rivers State politics.
“I expected the confirmation because the law is clear. The man who is challenging us never contested any election. So, he couldn’t have won. It is so painful,” the Governor said.
“It is part of life, if he really ran election with us, one can say there could be a problem. A man that I never knew till a few days to the election, how would it have been that the man won the election? So, I expected that the court would do the right thing, which they did.”
Governor Wike expressed confidence in the capacity of the judiciary to always act in the best interest of the country’s democracy. He said even though nobody expects perfection, the judiciary has continued to perform its constitutional responsibilities credibly.
“We give God all the glory. Some of us have confidence in the judiciary, even though you can’t expect perfection. That does not mean that they have not done well. So, I am happy what happened on Friday at the Supreme Court,” Wike said.
“We give God all the glory that all through He has been on our side for us to continue to do what we are supposed to for the people of Rivers State. God has given us the opportunity to deliver more dividends of democracy according to the will of Rivers people.”
The Governor added that his training as a lawyer has helped him promote the rule of law as the cornerstone of good governance.
“You don’t talk of governance, but you talk of rule of law. When people talk about governance, we talk about accountability. You can’t talk about all these things without adhering to the tenets of the rule of law. So, my training as a lawyer gives me the background that I must follow due process. What the law says you must adhere, whether it is against you or not.
“The rule of law is very much the backbone of getting to the root of democracy. So, as a lawyer, I feel happy that it has helped me, moulded me, and as my backbone to say look you have to do what is right.”
Governor Wike said the relative security being enjoyed in the state is a product of investment of the State Government and the contributions of all stakeholders.
“It has to do with collective efforts of every stakeholder, the security agencies and the people. If the people are not with you, it will be difficult for you to try to curb insecurity,” he said.
“If the security agencies are not willing to fight insecurity, it will be difficult because one, I am not a security personnel. Mine is to give the necessary logistics to see that they curb miscreants to the point that they will know that here is not comfortable for them, and this is what the security agencies are doing.
“After the 2019 general election, the security agencies in the state have been working with us, the synergy is so tight, that is why we are achieving what we are achieving. It is not a one man show.”