RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT UNDER FIRE OVER PROPOSED LOCAL ELECTION IN THE STATE
The Rivers State Government was again under fire over the decision recently
to nominate only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) card carrying members as
members of the 5 man Management Committee of the proposed Rivers State
Independent Electoral Commission. In opposing the insensitivity of the State
Government, Tonye Princewill Campaign Organisation stated that, " ... The
list of some of the nominees apart from being card carrying members of PDP
are people of questionable character that are not qualified to occupy such a
sensitive position in the State Electoral Commission".
Whilst Nigeria President, Umaru Yar'Adua has ruled out calls for declaring a
state of emergence in the state, he is fully aware of the ongoing crisis and
keen to root out the criminal elements in the state which was his message to
the 11-man delegation of the National Assembly members from Rivers State
that visited him at Aso Rock "We will deal decisively with criminal elements
whose activities have led to loss of lives and property and breakdown of law
and order".
However, for most observers of the ongoing crisis in Rivers State even the
suggestion that the state government is contemplating the idea of holding
local election is seen as a joke when citizens of the state are in fear of
leaving their homes under the current atmosphere. It might be worth stating
for the record that in developed nations like the UK and the US, the
government normally overlook political differences when their nation is in
crisis and invite opposition parties to the table to provide a united front
against the challenges confronted by the state.
In a memo released to the world media, Tonye Princewill Campaign
Organisation rejected the proposed nominations and asked for the immediate
suspension of the proposed idea in recognition of the pending tribunal case
in the court. Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the media consultant of the
campaign media outfit said, "...Let us reiterate that the Federal
Government in recognition of the fraud that was called an election in the
country has constituted a body to review the country's electoral system in
order to prevent the charade and sham that was called an election in the
country particularly in Rivers State. In this regard we wish to state that
apart from waiting for this review exercise to be concluded, we will like to
urge the Rivers State Government not only to withdraw the list immediately
but suspend any conduct of any election in the Local Government Councils
until the legitimacy of the present administration is determined by the
Election Tribunal currently sitting in the State over its purported election
in an obvious established fraudulent election that makes it lacks the powers
to conduct any credible election in the State considering the fact that the
present government in the State was a product of the most rigged election
in the country that is being used as a referent point all over the world".
Within the last 10 weeks, over a 100 people had been killed in the crisis
that has engulf the state and government of Sir Celestine Omehia is working
hard to stop the militant aggression against the state.
For further information, visit our website - www.theintegritymagazine.org .uk
By: Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze
Media Consultant,
Tonye Princewill Campaign Organisation
(TPCO), Rivers State