Now, it could be said that for Rivers, Abia and Akwa Ibom states, the time for politics is over. With the final judgments on the disputed governorship elections in the three states, both the political victors and the vanquished know where they stand. While Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the winner, is standing tall, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the loser, is standing small.
In its judgment last week Wednesday, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous verdict, did proclaim that Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was validly elected Governor of Rivers State. The apex court, ruling in favour of the Rivers State Governor, had set aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which, a few weeks earlier, annulled the election of Wike and ordered a rerun, following the appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Dakuku Peterside. Before the Court of Appeal judgment, the Rivers State Governorship Petition Tribunal had also cancelled the election and ordered a rerun. Now with the Supreme Court’s ruling, those who say that there was no election in Rivers and those who are vehement that Wike did not win have been proved wrong. The position of law is that governorship election not only hold in Rivers State last year, but also Wike won.
Also putting to rest the Abia State governorship election squabble, the Supreme Court pronounced that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP was duly elected and, therefore, should remain in office. The court, in so doing, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had cancelled the election of Ikpeazu and declaring Mr. Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the election. The appellate court had cancelled the results in Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa Local Governments Areas, which ensured that the votes of Otti were greater than Ikpeazu’s. Incidentally, the Court of Appeal did not stop at declaring Otti winner of the election, but also going a step further by ordering that he be sworn in as the governor immediately. The Appeal Court had overruled the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had upheld the victory of Ikpeazu. The Supreme Court judgment has, therefore, settled it for Ikpeazu. The position of law is that he won the election.
The case of Akwa Ibom is more dramatic, as the tribunal, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court each held different positions. The Supreme Court, as the final arbiter, on Wednesday ruled that Governor Udom Emmanuel of the PDP won the governorship election and should remain in office. The apex court, in taking this position, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had totally cancelled the outcome of the election and ordered a rerun. Earlier, the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had cancelled results in 18 out of the 31 local government areas in the state and ordered a rerun in them. Governor Emmanuel had sought refuge at the Court of Appeal, but had his nose more bloodied, as the appellate court cancelled the entire election. His appeal to the Supreme Court has, therefore, not only vindicated him but also crashed the ambition of Umana Umana of the APC.
With the Supreme Court’s judgments in Rivers, Abia and Akwa Ibom states, the PDP, which is in control of eight (Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Bayelsa) states in South East and South South is, therefore, firmly rooted in the geopolitical zones. Indeed, with the final word of the Supreme Court, the APC effort to have a bite at the South East and South South pie has crashed like a park of cards. APC, therefore, will have to work extra-hard to make headway in the two zones. At a time when the zones, especially the South East, are feeling marginalised in the APC Federal Government, it, therefore, will take a miracle for the party to make in-road in the geopolitical zones.
Well, now that the battle has been won and lost in Rivers, Abia and Akwa Ibom, the onus is on the governors to justify their hard-earned victories. In Abia, for instance, it’s clear that the greater part of the state did not want Ikpeazu in power. The configuration of votes shows this. For one, if you remove the votes of the three disputed local government areas of Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa, and the other Ngwa enclaves, Ikpeazu would not be governor. The votes of Alex Otti, on the other hand, cut across all local governments and old provinces of Abia, including the Ngwa heartlands. Indeed, an average Abia man was looking forward to the Otti governorship, shown by the wild jubilation after the Court of Appeal judgment in favour of the APGA candidate.
Truly, the resentment was not against Ikpeazu as a person. It was against immediate past governor, Theodore (TA) Orji, whose performance as governor leaves much to be desired. Yes, those who voted against Ikpeazu and did not want the court to affirm his victory did it because of ex-Governor Orji. Nobody wanted anybody that had a link with the former governor to win any election. They saw TA Orji as a plague and anything that had to do with him was, therefore, rejected. Nobody would blame Abia voters for feeling that way. The TA Orji tenure as governor was a shame. It’s only an unserious governor that would have left a commercial city, like Aba in such devastating state and decay, as TA Orji did, for instance, just as other sectors in the state never faired well.
Ikpeazu, therefore, has to do everything to prove to Abia residents that he’s not a non-performer like his godfather. In fact, it will pay him to begin now to show that there is not only a great difference between him and TA Orji but also that he’s not a puppet of the former governor. So far, he has done some roads in Aba and is trying in waste management, in the last eight months. However, this should not end up as mere tokenism or a flash in the pan. There may be the temptation of slowing down now that victory has been got. The governor needs to double his efforts, to prove that he’s his own man, that he has come to government to render service and positively touch the lives of Abia people and residents. He has to fix Aba roads and in other cities, ensure security, rid the state of dirt and restore the confidence of traders/businessmen and artisans, whose activities boost the state’s economy.
For Wike, he has proved that he is actually a political lord in Rivers State. When he boasted that he would be governor, despite the fact that he had fallen out with his erstwhile friend and political associate, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, only a few took him seriously. Although at that time, I had predicted that he would win the election, I suspected that it would not be easy, knowing that Amaechi has the same tendency as he. However, I never knew it would be so easy for Wike to ride to Government House, Port Harcourt.
Now that it is settled, Wike should forget about what Amaechi did or did not do in office and face the task of government. He should look ahead instead of backward. Amaechi did well in education and healthcare in his first tenure, but he derailed in the second term when politics and personal war with the Goodluck Jonathans became the primary agenda. He left many projects undone, as he engaged in battle for survival. Wike will suffer the same fate if he makes Amaechi his problem. The best way he would permanently render the former governor politically impotent is by high performance. His efforts to reconstruct and rehabilitate roads have been noticed. He should continue and go beyond this, to also address the problems plaguing the state in other sectors.
Even as the court cases were on, Governor Udom of Akwa Ibom did engage in ambitious projects, which will stand him out. His task is more daunting than Ikpeazu and Wike’s. He took over from a governor who made giant strides in development of the state. For him, therefore, to surpass what Senator Godswill Akpabio did, Governor Udom needs to take measure to harness resources of the state and channel them to good use. Good a thing, he’s a former banker, who should understand the dynamism of allocation of resources. His predecessor made a mark in provision of infrastructure. He should focus on another aspects in the state. The governor could lay emphasis on industrialisation and investment. This would create jobs and make the economy of the state buoyant.
All said, it’s time for Wike, Ikpeazu and Udom to govern. What they do in office will be their testimonial in future.
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