Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has knocked the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 governorship election in the state, Tonye Cole, for going to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to request the Certified True Copies of the March 18 electoral materials.
Cole had rejected the results of the election and demanded the cancellation of the election, saying it did not reflect the choices and will of the people of the state.
INEC had declared Governor Wike’s “anointed” candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Siminalayi Fubara, the winner of the governorship election after he polled a total of 302,614 votes.
Cole, his closest challenger, was said to have polled a total of 95,274 votes.
In his call for the INEC to cancel the election following “widespread violence and irregularities,” Cole petitioned the Governorship Election Tribunal in the state and demanded access to check the certified true copies of election materials used for the election.
But speaking at a school building inauguration in the state on Tuesday, Wike slammed Cole for challenging the outcome of the election, saying the APC candidate lost the election and there was nothing Cole could do about it.
According to Wike, even if INEC cancels the election more than 25,000 times, Cole will still lose.
“Why will people talk about rigging? Look at the school. Who will provide this kind of facility and you will ignore and say you won’t vote for the people? If politicians can fulfil the promises they made, this country would have been better. It is not as if the money is not there, it is the commitment.
“I’m happy the governor-elect is here. I believe the governor-elect will appreciate you people when he is sworn in in May this year.
“Don’t mind those who are wasting their time crying on television. Have you seen where a candidate is going to INEC to collect CTC? What are your lawyers doing? What are your agents doing? Those are the duties of lawyers. What CTC do you want to collect?
“Can’t people see the truth of the matter that you have lost the election? Even if you cancel the election 25,000 times in this state, you cannot win us in this state. You waste your time, you go to Arise (Television), you go to Channels (Television), whatever you want to go and do, go, you have that time, I don’t have that time,” Governor Wike said.
According to Wike, APC in Rivers State “is no longer in existence”.
He added that there is no amount of propaganda that will make the state change.
He further berated Cole for claiming that he made the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, win in the state, saying, “How could you make the presidential candidate win but he didn’t get one Senate?”
“Who doesn’t know who did it? Is it hidden? Human beings cannot come out and say the truth. They supported PDP candidate (Atiku Abubakar) and they lost weight and they didn’t get 25%. We supported a Southern president. We did, we owe no apologies for equity, fairness and justice. We took the Senate 3/3, we took 11 House of Reps out of 13. What can you do to us?
“At the state level, we gave you 32/32. We didn’t keep one for them, to tell them that we are responsible. We are in charge of this state. In fact, if not because there is no time, I would have asked them to cancel it, let’s go for re-election,” he added.
