I have no one but God, says Wike

Nyesom Wike, whom the Rivers state election petition tribunal sacked as governor on Saturday, has turned to God for help.

Speaking on Sunday during a thanksgiving service held in honour of his supporters in Port Harcourt, Wike described the verdict as a distraction, urging the people to stand along with him.

“I thank God for the opportunity to serve the people of Rivers state and I know that only God has the final say,” he said.

“The only weapon I have is prayers; we don’t have any connection, no contact but we do know that the contact of God is the supreme contact.

“If they think that, that judgment will distract me, no way. I will not be distracted but get more focused. The road that they refused to do, I will do them.

“Yes, we may not be happy but we owe a duty to our people. I call on our people not to relent. Please don’t relent. This is the time that Rivers state needs you. By and large, victory will be ours at the end of the day.”

Earlier in the day, Wike made a broadcast where he faulted the tribunal and expressed optimism that the appeal court will rule in his favour.

“It is common knowledge that INEC’s card readers malfunctioned throughout the country in the 2015 general election,” he had said.

“It is also common knowledge that wherever the card reader malfunctioned, manual accreditation, which is the only process, recognised by the current electoral act, was used to accredit voters all over the country.

“So far, I am not aware of any state where the election was postponed as a result of failure of card readers. Furthermore, the court of appeal in Agbaje v Ambode clearly stated that the partial or non-use of card readers is not the basis for the cancellation of an election.

“Yet, against all legal odds and the grains of logic, the tribunal in its wisdom decided to accord undue legal weight to the straw of statements around the use or non-use of card readers to support its decision in the face of a hopelessly bad case of the petitioners.

“Being an implacable believer in the majesty of our judicial system as the last hope of the common man, I have implicit confidence in the ability of the appellate courts to correct the mistakes of the tribunal and right the wrong that has been done to our collective psyche and aspiration.”