‘INEC was unfair to Rivers State’

Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and spokesman for the Tony Cole Campaign Organisation Prince Tonye Princewill spoke with reporters in Lagos on the outcome of the general elections and the future of the party in the Southsouth state. Excerpts:

What is your reaction to the outcome of the Rivers State governorship election?

What has happened teaches me a lot of things. Some Nigerians do not care enough about our corruption. At least, not enough to call a spade a spade when they see it. We all know what transpired, even if we don’t know the details. Yet, we put it down to how things are, in Nigeria, in Rivers State. Many Nigerians do not care about how you win, as long as you win. You can kill and maim your way to power and it won’t matter to them, they will gladly shake the bloodstained hands of the winner and bow down in loyalty. Our moral compasses have so ossified to the point where winning is more important than how you win. The outrage over what led to INEC’s declaration is shared by many, but not enough. Some of us have elected to do something about it. All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing isn’t a cliche for us.

Your party, the APC, did not participate. But, it adopted the AAC candidate. The result shows Wike winning the combined forces of the APC and AAC with over 700,000 votes. What is your reaction?

There is no correlation between that result and Rivers people. Unless it is in the minds of the ignorant or the complicit. If like some, you believe that the end justifies the means, it is convenient to disregard how that result was arrived at. But those who know better aren’t fooled. You say 700,000 votes, yet you ignore that one LGA, Wike’s own accounts for over 300,000 votes unchallenged after he stormed its collation center where a soldier was shot, yet another was injured critically by a machete and AAC agents taken hostage while electoral materials where carted away. An LGA where such occurred really had no business being accepted by INEC. But it was. Hook, line and with 300,000 votes. The list of high crimes by INEC and PDP continued across the other LGAs, but the APC Government let it be. If we the people had them taken matters into our own hands, people would have died and the neutral observer would have said we in Rivers state are savages. But they forget that you can only push a man so far. I don’t blame Wike, it’s his nature. I blame his accomplices. Wike already has what is coming to him, but they too must answer to this show of shame. They cannot escape it. Never.

This election was held on March 9 and it took 24 days to fully collate and announce the result. Is that normal?

Thank you for that question. It isn’t normal. And yet some expect a normal result to emerge from such an abnormal process? Like I said earlier, our moral compasses have been so redacted to the point where we can not call a spade what it is. INEC suspended a whole election in an entire state against the provisions of an electoral act and it stood. Our cries were dismissed and our voices ignored. Nobody listened. Amaechi is one man. If PDP and internal saboteurs cannot forgive him, should the entire state be made to suffer? Do our elders and youths have to be subjected to a Wike administration for another four years because of your hate for Amaechi? What did he do to you? What did we do to you? Every life in Rivers state is valuable and we will not rest until they are given the opportunity to realize their full potential. Some of the people lining up to stab Amaechi today were the beneficiaries of his good heart yesterday. In some cases, he even saved their lives!! Disagree, even deny him any advantage if you like, but don’t forget tomorrow, even if you have forgotten yesterday. Why demonize him constantly even when he is silent? What use is it to you to kick a man when others are kicking him too and why take out your pound of flesh from the backs of innocent Rivers people? Amaechi will forgive you. But Rivers people won’t.

You raise several objections like that the result should have been announced within 21 days, that INEC kept result shhets in its custody rather than with the CBN. What difference does this make?

The simple answer to your question is our objections made no difference because they interrupted the agenda that was in play. There is a reason why elections are covered by guidelines and transparency is the currency which INEC has to protect. In the Rivers state matter, they exhibited an arrogance of the highest order and made no concessions in our favour. None. The blatant disregard they showed is why we cannot let this matter rest. In a very short statement I issued after they declared Wike, I said they have murdered sleep and asked us to go to hell. We have heard them. They too will hear us soon.

You issued a statement after the return of Wike that the election will not stand the test of time. How, what will you do?

We have several options before us and each option will be scrutinised to the full. If this isn’t countered, it will become the norm. By our traditionally low standards, 2019 in Rivers state was a very new low. Therefore there must be consequences. You can ignore a small party and maybe get away with it, but not the APC. My saying after the selection and declaration was “Fiat justitia ruat caelum” and I stand by it. Rivers state deserves better than such an organized oppression. We are way too big for that.

You have severally accused Senator Magnus Abe, who was factional governorship candidate of APC of fraternizing with Wike. How did he do that?

Let me quickly correct you. Abe was an aspirant, not a candidate. And the APC only recognized Tonye Cole as its candidate. So the use of the term factional candidate is like calling someone a factional parent. It won’t fly. I’m not going to discuss Abe at length except to say that when the baby is not your own, it’s death does not affect you. We saw it in the Bible when Solomon confronted the two women over the ownership of the child. We know those who are happy about this hollow victory and we know those who avoided bloodshed to allow it pass. The real owners of Rivers state are in tears. The real friends of Rivers state are sad. The real lovers of Rivers state are in mourning, while those without a stake or conscience are either indifferent or at peace. Let every man take his position. The time to be held accountable will definitely come.

In This Story:#TonyeCole #INEC #NyesomWike #MagnusAbe #CBN #APC #AAC #PDP