Eniola Olayemi
Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Rivers people and other lovers of democracy to ignore Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers Southeast) and his allies for misrepresentation of facts on Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, insisting that the candidacy of Pastor Tonye Cole and others of APC is not imperilled.
Cole, a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), who is a co-founder of Sahara Group, still expressed optimism that he and other candidates of APC in Rivers would be on the ballot for this year’s elections and they would emerge victorious.
The justices of Supreme Court, Friday, ruled on APC’s legal representation in the suit at the Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Chinwendu Nwogu.
The apex court declared that the Legal Adviser of Rivers APC, Chinweikpe Chieme, not Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, was the main opposition party in the state and that the judgment of Justice Nwogu was a consent judgment.
Rivers APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, Friday said: “The attention of Rivers State chapter of APC has been drawn to a myriad of reports making the rounds on the social media, giving conflicting, and in some cases, outright mischievous narratives, misinterpreting and misrepresenting the pronouncement of the Supreme Court of Friday, February 8, 2019, on the matter between Ibrahim Umar and 22 others versus Rivers APC.
“Whereas the Rivers APC is reluctant to take issues with anyone when it concerns matters before the court, however, we believe that members of the public deserve to be protected from calculated mischief and misinformation, especially those dispensed through the social media and rumours. Therefore, it has become highly necessary to re-state what transpired at the Supreme Court.
“The apex court ruled that, in line with provisions of the Constitution of the APC, the chapter’s legal adviser at the time the matter commenced, Mr. Chieme Chinweikpe, rightly represented the party directly or through legal appointees of his, instead of Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who was seconded by the Legal Department of national headquarters of APC. This means that the judgment given by Justice Chinwendu Nwogu was a consent judgment following thereto.
“Irrespective of how we feel about the pronouncement, the Rivers State chapter of APC has to accept that decision, having come from the highest court of the land.
“We make haste to, however; state that the decision on legal representation was the only matter the Supreme Court made pronouncement on Friday. We expect the apex court to rule on the all-important issue of jurisdiction of whether the Rivers State High Court of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu was right to delve into what we believe was an internal affair of the APC, with regards to primaries.
“We urge the mainstream media and innocent members of the public to resist the lure of mischievous individuals, who are inundating the social media and entire cyberspace with jaundiced versions of the Supreme Court ruling or churning out outright fake news, with a view to deceiving the public, deluding themselves with short-lived comfort and feathering their nests from their paymasters.
“We are convinced that no harm has been done to the candidacy of our governorship candidate, Pastor Tonye Cole, and the others. We believe that, by the grace of God, we shall triumph and ultimately be on the ballot for the 2019 elections.”
The main opposition APC also called on the teeming supporters of the party in Rivers to remain calm, while assuring that it would surely end in praise and declared that candidates of APC in the state would surely be on the ballot and go ahead to win on February 16 and March 2, 2019.
The Director, Strategic Communications of Tonye Cole/Victor Giadom Campaign Organisation of APC, Prince Tonye Princewill, said in his reaction Friday evening: “I have just spoken with our lawyers. The judgement is nothing to overly concern ourselves over. I thought it was worse when I heard that the Nyesom Wike (of People’s Democratic Party) and Magnus Abe’s camps were celebrating.
“After the defeats, they (Wike and Abe) suffered in recent weeks, any news is good news for them. Our two appeal court judgments remain valid. No one else has been declared candidate and the substantive matter has not even been touched. That will be coming up on Monday. So, no cause for alarm.”
The Spokesman of Cole/Giadom campaign organisation, Ogbonna Nwuke, a former member of the House of Representatives, while also reacting, declared that the celebrations by Wike, Abe and their drowning supporters would soon turn to sorrow, while expressing confidence that justice would be ensured by the courts.
Nwuke, an ex-Rivers Commissioner for Information, said: “Our attention has been drawn to reports which suggest that Ibrahim Umar and 22 others have secured a final determination at the Supreme Court.
“The fact available to us is that the only issue determined on Friday, February 8, 2019 was that of legal representation, which had been in contention.
“Based on the various conflicting headlines being carried, it is critical to state that there are other pending matters, including the substantive appeal, which is yet to be determined by the Supreme Court. Our faith in the judiciary remains unshaken.
“We wish to urge our numerous supporters not to panic, following the deliberate misrepresentation of facts on the social media and elsewhere, regarding the outcome of the ruling. We shall surely be triumphant in the end.”
Contrary to insinuations making the round, the Supreme Court, Friday, never pronounced Abe and candidates of his faction, who emerged through direct primary election, not supervised by officials of the national secretariat of APC, as authentic candidates of the party, while Prince Peter Odile, whom Abe announced as Rivers APC state chairman of his faction, was not recognised by the apex court.
