By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The legal adviser of the All Progressives Congress, Rivers State Chapter, Iheanyichukwu Dike Esq, has given hints about what he thinks will befall the Peoples Democratic Party in next year’s general election in the state.
According to him, Rivers people are fed up with the PDP and are waiting to demonstrate that at the polls in 2023.
The APC legal adviser gave this hint in a statement he issued in reaction to the disqualification of the party’s house of assembly candidates in sixteen state constituencies by a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Iheanyichukwu Dike, in his statement, claimed that Rivers PDP’s habit of running to the court at the slightest opportunity stemmed from its fear of engaging in a free and fair contest with the APC at the election.
“The knee-jerk resort to the court by the PDP is a clear indication of its fear for a contest at the polls because of its total loss of goodwill in Rivers State,” he said.
The APC legal adviser then, in what could be deemed a note of warning, announced that the people of Rivers State were patiently waiting to use the 2023 elections to demonstrate that the PDP had lost their goodwill.
“Rivers people are waiting for them at the polls and Rivers people will meet them at the polls come 2023,” he declared.
Mr Iheanyichukwu Dike described PDP’s argument and interference in APC’s affairs that made the judgment laughable. He explained: “The principal ground for the PDP’s action is that our party’s delegates congresses were allegedly not monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“As laughable as the PDP’s contention is, especially in view of its meddlesome interference in the internal affairs of our party, the matter proceeded, and Hon gave judgment. Justice Turaki Mohammed who proceeded to nullify some of our primary elections with respect to the state house of assembly.”
The APC legal adviser revealed that they would appeal the judgment and that justice would be given to Rivers APC at the end of the day. He stated: “While we make an effort to immediately appeal the decision with respect to the areas where our primaries were nullified, we urge our teeming supporters to remain calm while we assure them that we will get justice.
“We will not relent in our pursuit of justice in this and every other matter.”
At the time of doing this report, efforts to get PDP’s official reaction did not yield any result. However, a staunch member of the party who is also a leader of his ward in one of the Obio/Akpor communities dismissed the APC legal adviser’s claims as the rantings of a man afraid of losing his job following his employer’s gradual death.
“The APC legal adviser has seen that his party employed him is already in a coma waiting for the final breathing, so he’s afraid of losing his job. That’s why he’s howling like a wounded jackal. Imagine him saying that PDP has lost the goodwill of the Rivers people. Maybe he doesn’t live in this state. Otherwise, he would have known that no other party has touched the lives of Rivers people like the PDP. Maybe he is also blind; that is why he cannot see the development projects the leader of our great party, His Excellency, Chief Barr Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, is spreading all across this state.
“Does he need a soothsayer to tell him that APC is gone? Anyway, 2023 is almost around the corner; we shall wait and see. I advise him to start looking for another job before 2023 because his party and employer are near its grave. Rivers State is PDP, and PDP is Rivers State.”
