The ordinary man on the streets of Port Harcourt has chosen the path of muteness in the face of what is now termed ‘Naira Rain’, the discovery of mountainous heaps of cash allegedly recovered by electoral officials that worked during the December 10, 2016 Rivers rerun elections.
Instead, it is only the political gladiators and the embattled political parties that have found enough energy to renew their endless verbal warfare against each other.
The silence on the streets has been interpreted as either total disbelief by the people that the money came from Rivers State coffers or they think it is ‘normal’ or usual to set aside huge sums to bribe officials. Worse, they may feel it is none of the business of the IG of Police.
The police panel set up by the Inspector-General to probe the spate of allegations and killings in the rerun elections said a total of N360 million was shared out to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who allegedly supplied the ‘bribe’, has accused the police of attempting to distract his focus on development.
His party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has equally weighed in, describing the outcome of the investigation as laughable.
The rival All Progressives Congress (APC), however, believes it has been proved right. The man who lost to Wike at the governorship tussle in 2015, Dakuku Peterside, has come out to beckon on the world to see how the elections were won and lost.
Wike: They want to distract us
Reacting through a statement signed by Governor Wike’s media aide, Simeon Nwakauda, the Rivers State government said, “This is a shameless Nigerian Police High Command desperate to impress after failing to assassinate Governor Wike. The statement is patently false, politically motivated and cooked by the Nigerian Police to justify the violence they visited on the people of Rivers State during the rerun. This Inspector General of Police and his team are neck deep in crime. This statement credited to the Police High Command is aimed at diverting attention from its loss of credibility, after its attempt to assassinate Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike failed woefully.
“The press conference by the Police High Command is a hasty desperate attempt to circumvent the judicial process as Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has already challenged the legality of the IGP Investigative Panel at the Federal High Court.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, did not spend N360 million to rig the rerun legislative elections of December 10, 2016. The people of Rivers State overwhelmingly voted the PDP across the state because of the outstanding performance of Governor Wike since May 29, 2015.”
Wike’s team said the promised press interview of the INEC officials never held.
“A simple poser to the Police High Command: Where did the so-called electoral officials save the monies that they displayed before journalists two months after they allegedly received bribe? How come no funds were spent by the said officials under the present circumstances?” the statement queried.
“Why did the Police refuse to tell the world about the persons who killed DSP Alkali?” it further asked.
In another development, Wike accused federal agencies of desperate political blackmail against Rivers State for the purpose of slowing down its rapid development. He spoke to the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens-Peter Kjemprud, who came to seek partnership.
“Don’t bother about the politicking. As an opposition state, when you are doing well in terms of project execution and good governance, the Federal Government blackmails you to drive away investors. We are focused on our goal of developing our state. Therefore, we shall continue to partner with foreign and national investors to develop the Rivers’ economy,” the governor said on Thursday.
PDP weighs in
The PDP weighed in, describing the naira rain as laughable and a dangerous threat to Nigeria’s nascent democracy. The party called it huge senseless concoction submitted as report by the Inspector-General of Police Panel.
The party boss, Felix Obuah, said that the intent of the IGP’s panel ab-initio was to divert attention from all the atrocities, inhumanities and all manner of professional misconducts committed by the APC and the security agencies against the Rivers people during the rerun election, of which visible evidence abounds, including photographs and live videos of police officers beating electoral officers and snatching electoral materials to rig the elections for the APC.
“We were fully aware of this game plan and raised alarm for anybody who cared to listen, to hear yet the conspirators and political desperados feigned ignorance of our revelations and went ahead to hatch their evil plot. Today, we are happy we have been vindicated,” he said.
A new group which called itself Elite Youth Support and Development Initiative led by one Edison Inalegu (chairman) and Chukwu Okoro (secretary) contended that the IG sacked six police officers before the panel sat and that the stacks of money had doubtful origin.
APC’s angle
On the other hand, the APC welcomed the investigation report and commended the successful recapture of N110m. The party said it feels a sense of vindication over repeated alarm it sounded before, during after the general and rerun elections of 2015 and 2016 that Gov. Nyesom Wike bribes electoral officials before and during every election in Rivers State.
“Indeed, the IGP Panel report goes further to confirm that the audio bribery clips published by online newspaper in which the voice of Gov. Wike was directing the deployment of bribe money to INEC officials is real and authentic despite the barefaced denials by the governor,” the APC said.
The party said it believes that the ‘spins and reverse spins’ the PDP is trying to put to a clear case of criminal act it committed with overwhelming evidence is the usual antics of roadside pickpockets when they are caught in the act.
“Even more laughable is the attempt to disown the exhibit claiming that it belongs to the APC. Where on earth could the APC in Rivers State have found that kind of money if not the governor who withdrew N2bn belonging to Rivers’ taxpayers just before the rerun election from which N260m was paid out to electoral officials as bribe money?” it said.
The APC said it would like Wike and the PDP to tell the world whether they did not bribe INEC officials as discovered by the IGP Panel.
“They should also tell the people whether INEC officials who are alleged to have collected the bribe money did not actually confess to the crime. Does the proof of bribery provided by the police as evidence that Gov. Wike gave bribe to electoral officials not authenticate the act to the extent that those who made the refunds are alive?” the party said.
Dakuku Peterside berate Wike
On his part, Dakuku Peterside berated the state governor for always being involved in controversies and accusations of trying to corrupt federal institutions. Peterside listed several other instances of such to include alleged bribery of former Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Gesila Khan; attempts to induce some high-ranking judicial officers, compromise of security officers, amongst others.
He expressed regrets that the governor was rubbishing the hard-earned reputation of Rivers people who are known to be “industrious, responsible, decent and dignified”.
“The latest embarrassment from the governor is indeed shocking. Here is a man who has been boasting that his party can win election. If this is true, why was he so desperate to the point of inducing electoral officials to do his bidding with our commonwealth?
“I have always said it that if free and fair election is allowed to take place in Rivers state, the APC will win convincingly. We have the people behind us and they know who can best represent their hopes and aspirations.
“Rather than the governor and his cohorts to avail themselves the opportunity of defending allegations against them, Wike ran to court in Abuja desperately seeking to stop the Police IG Panel. If he has nothing to hide, why didn’t he tell his boys to appear before the panel if only to prove their innocence?
“But the same governor has now set up a kangaroo panel in Rivers state to look at issues surrounding the same December 10 rerun election and he expects people to turn up. What manner of a man would reason this way? Can’t he just rise above primordial sentiments and behave like a statesman?” Peterside queried.
Now that the Wike administration has washed its hands off the recovered loot, and the people are not keen on having the money back, many have suggested the money be given to orphanage homes to feed the motherless since nobody wants to own the money.
