…They are wasting time – Wike

By Egufe Yafugborhi

Just when it was being said that last week’s dismissal of the suit seeking to disqualify Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State from eligibility for a second term on the basis of alleged forgery, there are indications that bickering over the matter is set to continue.

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike

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Achinike William-Wobodo, an associate of the All Progressives Congress, APC state leader, Rotimi Amaechi had dragged Wike to court over conflicting assertions in his age declaration affidavits.

Wike is alleged to have at different times presented different age declaration affidavits portraying that he was born on March 13, 1963, and in another case that he was born on December, 13th 1968.

A federal high court sitting in Abuja had last week dismissed the case upon the application of the plaintiff.

While the governor, through his Media Aide, Simeon Nwakaodu, declared the case closed based on the court judgement, William-Wobodo, has, however, insisted that the governor has a case to answer.

Celebrating the Abuja High Court judgement which awarded a N50,000.00 cost against the Plaintiff, Nwakaodu harped that, “Governor Wike was duly nominated to fly flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ) for Rivers n the 2019 General election at a Governorship Primary on September 30, 2018, at the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt.”

According to him, the issue of disqualification should now be focused on “a Rivers High Court in Port Harcourt presided over by Justice Chinwendu Nwogu which nullified the primaries and congresses conducted by Rivers APC, leaving the party with no governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly Candidates in the 2019 General Elections.”

However, responding to the development, the plaintiff, William-Wobodo insisted that the case has only gotten worse for the governor.

He said, “To make matters worse for him, he has actually replaced that certificate we were trying to pre-empt.

“Around February this year, we noticed an attempt by the governor to remove what he had already submitted in INEC. So we quickly obtained a certified true copy. As time went by he intensified efforts to replace the said document.

“By law, what we did would be regarded as post-election, but because we had to pre-empt an action about to be taken, we had to go to court. We waited till he filed his new papers. That matter was in court hanging. At least it served its purpose. INEC could not substitute the documents then after before which they wanted to do.

“The court jumped into saying they dismiss the case. I am not dissuaded by that action. In this country when you are fighting such causes, people try to put spanners on the wheel.

“I am not moved because Sections 31(5) of the Electoral Act says anybody who feels that a candidate submitted a document that is false can go to court. So if they said they dismissed my case, any other person can go to court.

“The only time anybody can be stopped is when the court considers the merits of the case and makes a pronouncement on the merit. The intention was to withdraw and file another case. So we have filed another matter at the Federal High Court.

“Whatever defense he thinks he has on the issue of false certificate he submitted, he would then present and prove in court. To make matters worse for him, he has actually replaced that certificate which we were trying to pre-empt.

“This is not about conflicting birth dates. We are not Wike’s father to dictate whatever age he is. We are not concerned about whether he was born 1963 or1967.

We are saying that whatever age he claims he is, the document showing that age is forged.”