Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will reclaim the Ebonyi governorship seat following the defection of its Governor, David Umahi to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Umahi and his deputy were earlier this week, sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja for defecting from the PDP to the APC.
Wike, who spoke on Saturday at the commissioning of the reconstructed 3.4km eastern bypass in Port Harcourt, the state capital said the PDP will stop at nothing to winning the legal battle.
He maintained that despite the initial comments by Governor Umahi to fault the judiciary, the party will not be intimidated, vowing to support the party to fight it out to the Supreme Court.
“Nobody has gone to court to seek interpretation of a Governor who has defected from one party to the other. This is the first time. And so it looks new to people and they ask whether you can remove a Governor.
“It is better for the court to make a pronouncement. Everybody will have to be careful.”
The governor said it is wrong for one to defect to another party with the votes he gained from others, maintaining that if one must defect as governor, he must leave the position he gained using the other party’s votes.
“You give somebody an umbrella and the next day he defects. EFCC will come, he will say let me join them so EFCC will not go against me. You carry the vote of another party and join another party. Can you transfer votes? If you are defecting, leave the seat.
“And this will checkmate most of these political harlots who will never sit one place, looking for excuses here and there.
“Governor Umahi, be rest assured that PDP will continue this matter down to Supreme Court.”
Governor Wike said this was the first in Nigeria’s political history that the defection of a governor to another party was being contested in court.
He opined that the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the defection of the governor and others elected on its platform should be seen as a clear example of what is required to strengthen democracy.
“If our party has done this earlier when people were leaving in the National Assembly, we won’t have had the problem we are having today,” he said.
“That is one of the problems of party leadership. People cannot come out and take the bull by the horns.”
The Rivers governor also took a swipe at the deputy governor of Edo State, who had spoken against the PDP.
Governor Wike said he has written to the national chairman of the party and given reasons a disciplinary committee needs to be set up against the deputy governor, who lost his ward in the last election.
“This is the thing I am talking about impunity. I was watching when a deputy governor was ranting in the media, threatening the party that there is an alternative to PDP.
“This is the same deputy governor who knelt down to beg for us to give them an umbrella. Today, he has the effrontery to threaten PDP.”
Governor Wike also berated the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for abdicating their agreement of contributing 50 per cent of the cost of the construction of the Eastern Bypass Road that leads to its corporate headquarters office in Port Harcourt.
Inauguration the road project, former Governor of Kogi State, Idris Ibrahim, noted with delight the untiring delivery of projects by Governor Wike virtually in all sectors in order to provide quality living to Rivers people.
According to him, such a measure of service in public office is evidence of transparency and accountability because the people can see how public resources are deployed for the good of all residents.
He affirmed that the entire PDP leadership identifies and is proud of the quality of service provided by Governor Wike, who has become a worthy example of what political leadership should be in Nigeria.
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