Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, on Wednesday, said he disagreed with the Court of Appeal’s ruling against his election and instructed his lawyers to appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court.
This is contained in a statement in Port Harcourt by Simeon Nwakaudu, the governor’s Special Assistant on Electronic Media.
The Court of Appeal, earlier in the day, upheld the ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal that nullified the April 11 governorship election in the South-south state and ordered fresh poll.
If Wike fails at the apex court, it is the end of the road for him as a fresh election will be conducted in the oil-bearing state.
There was jubilation in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Wednesday following the Appeal Court verdict.
Thousands of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) trooped out to rejoice over the judgement, vowing to defeat Wike if a fresh election is ordered by the apex court.
According to the statement by Nwakaudu, the governor disagrees with the judgement, hence his decision to exhaust his constitutional right by challenging the Appeal Court’s judgement at the Supreme Court.
The statement, however, said that Wike called on all his supporters and the people of the state to remain calm as justice would be done “at the end of the day”.
”Wike assured the people of the state that he would use all constitutional processes to protect the mandate they freely bestowed on him which informed his decision to approach the Supreme Court for further adjudication.
”The governor said that he still remains the duly-elected governor of Rivers State, pending the determination of his appeal by the Supreme Court,” the statement said.
It said that Wike assured that all ongoing development projects would continue while his administration would also continue to promote the security of lives and property across the state.
Reacting to the ruling, Chief Austin Opara, former deputy speaker in the House of Representatives and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), supported Wike on seeking redress at the apex court.
According to Opara, the Court of Appeal judgement is against the mandate of Rivers’ people.
