Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate commitment to fight the war against insurgency, insecurity and amendment of the Electoral Act.
Wike noted that one of the reasons insurgency, banditry, cultism and other heinous crimes besetting Nigeria had continued to fester was because the federal government had failed to admit lacking the capacity to tackle the security challenges bedeviling the country.
“The president of the country has not shown enough strength to say I am willing to fight this insurgency; I am willing to fight insecurity problem in this country. As a leader, when people see you are willing to do something, I can tell you, you will see that people will come out and give their best.”
Governor Nyesom Wike stated this in a vituperation attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the delay in amending the Electoral Act, saying no reasonable citizen of the country would want the party to retain the presidential seat in 2023.
Wike claimed that Nigerians have lost confidence in the APC and further accused it of frustrating moves to amend the Act.
“Amending the Electoral Act would be a giant leap forward for the country as it would lead to free, fair, and credible elections,” Wike tweeted on his official handle, doubling down on his claim that the ruling APC is afraid of losing the presidential seat.
“Unfortunately, we are again seeing tricks and delays because this government doesn’t want it amended so they can manipulate the 2023 elections. They know people have lost confidence in the APC Government and no reasonable Nigerian would want them back.”
Amending the Electoral Act would be a giant leap forward for the country as it would lead to free, fair and credible elections. Unfortunately we are again seeing tricks and delays because this government doesn’t want it amended so they can manipulate the 2023 elections.
Wike had earlier in the year accused President Muhammadu Buhari of not signing the amended Electoral Act because he was advised against it by the APC which felt he (Buhari) could have lost the 2019 election if it was signed.
“And of course, the President did not sign the electoral amendment Act,” the governor explained.
“I am not carried away by the antics of the National Assembly. They all know what will make the country move forward. One, make the election to be transparent by ensuring that all votes are counted.
“You can achieve that by allowing the card reader to function. So that the figures recorded on the card reader should tally with the transmitted figures.”
Wike also reiterated the call for state police to boost internal security.
“The issue of security is paramount in governance and when a government cannot protect life and property, then that government has failed. There are no two ways about it. There is no propaganda that can solve the problem,” he said.
The governor said there was nothing wrong with the federal government admitting it had obviously failed in the protection of lives and property and that it needed support and ideas to tackle the prevailing insecurity across the country.
He said it was sad to hear the Governor of Niger State, who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), lamenting how the federal government nonchalance to the security challenge in his state paved way for Boko Haram to overrun over 50 communities.
The Rivers State governor described as pathetic, incessant cases of kidnapping, banditry and murder of innocent civilians and soldiers.
According to him, “I think the federal government is not interested in the protection of lives and property of Nigerians.”
He said there would be nothing wrong if President Buhari led federal government should seek help from countries like the United States of America, China, United Kingdom and others that have faced and solved similar security challenges.
“If you are incapacitated, there is nothing wrong asking for help from people who have the capacity, who have what it takes to solve such problem. You don’t need to shy away because Nigeria is an independent sovereign country and therefore as a president of a country, you don’t need to seek help from outside.”
The governor called for procurement of requisite equipment that would enable the military and other security agencies to effectively tackle insecurity in the country.
“If you listen to the security men they will tell you they lack equipment, they lack what it takes to fight terrorists or insurgents. They will tell you that, look, we don’t have the equipment.”
Wike maintained that the prevailing insecurity across the country was a pointer to the salient fact that the country urgently required state police to tackle terrorism.
Wike also stated that the reason why the APC led government did not want the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act and for the president to assent to it, was because they were not prepared to ensure a free, fair and credible election in 2023.
He declared that with the prevailing disenchantment in Nigeria over the “mal-administration that has characterised the APC rule,” it is obvious to the party that Nigerians would overwhelmingly vote against them, hence, they are frustrating any electoral reform that would make the 2023 polls credible.
Commenting on the petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Wike, said the petition which he opposed should never be misconstrued for crisis in the PDP.
