Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of plotting to undermine democracy in Rivers State.
Frank alleged that Wike is planning to secure a court injunction to block the allocation of funds from the Federation Account to the 22 Local Government Councils in the state.
In a statement released in Abuja on Sunday, the former APC chieftain claimed that the FCT Minister and his associates resorted to the strategy following their failure to prevent Saturday’s local government elections in the state.
THE WHISTLER reported that the Action People’s Party (APP) had won 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions at the polls, as announced by Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had boycotted the polls after securing a judgment from a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing voters’ registers to the RSIEC.
The judgment also restrained the Inspector General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun, from providing security for the elections.
Wike, a chieftain of the PDP and immediate past governor of the state was believed to be supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop the election from holding.
But Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who fell out with Wike barely months after assuming office, went ahead with the election relying on a judgment of the Supreme Court which ordered that democratically-elected officials must govern all the local governments in the country.
Frank, in his reaction on Sunday, claimed that Wike has perfected plans to approach a Federal High Court in Abuja through his proxies with spurious writ seeking that monthly funds allocation to the 22 LGAs in Rivers State should henceforth be withheld.
The Bayelsa-born political activist urged the FCT minister to abandon the alleged plan for the benefit of Rivers people and to find alternative means of resolving his conflict with Governor Fubara.
Frank also called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene, warning that allowing such action could tarnish his democratic credentials.
Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, also cautioned the judiciary against granting any frivolous requests related to the LG polls.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot afford to fold his arms and watch as Wike plots to reverse democracy in Rivers State and by extension Nigeria.
“The anti-democratic tendency of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who seized funds meant for local councils in Lagos during Tinubu’s administration as Governor must not be allowed to repeat itself in Rivers State.
“As we speak, Wike is putting the finishing touches to plans to secure a kangaroo court order to stop monthly funds allocation to local government councils in Rivers State. This must not be allowed to happen,” he said.
Frank further warned that such a move could lead to economic disruption in Rivers and the country in general.
“Any action capable of truncating democracy in the country similar to ongoing scenarios in some West African States must be avoided.
“The people of Rivers State have elected their council chairman and councillors in line with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court to democratize all LGAs in Nigeria and any attempt to truncate democracy in Rivers would be resisted by the people,” he said.
