Wike should be going to prison not re-contesting

The Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal, on Saturday, October 24, 2015, nullified the victory of Nyesom Wike in the April 11 governorship elections in the state.

International observers had on April 12 called for the cancellation of the Rivers election which they said was marred with irregularities and violence.

“We request all lovers of democracy to join us in calling for the outright cancellation of the phony election,” the observers’ spokesperson, Humphrey Bekaren said while expressing shock that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ignored the chaos and went ahead to declare results.

Former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi also condemned the polls which he described as “daylight robbery.”

“Because of the larger interest of Rivers state, I and most Rivers people will not accept that daylight robbery they called elections,” Amaechi said via Twitter on April 14.

Nyesom Wike robbed the people of Rivers state and went on to enjoy a stolen mandate. Therefore Nyesom Wike is a thief and thieves belong in jail.

Unfortunately, the faulty Nigerian system continues to reward thieves and rogues instead of sending them where they belong. The Tribunal is giving Wike the chance to re-contest the governorship elections, the very elections it admitted were rigged in his favour.

“We are satisfied with evidence of the petitioners to the effect that substantial number of the electorate in Rivers State were disenfranchised as a result of massive and widespread irregularities,” the tribunal held in its ruling.

“We are further convinced that the election was characterized by corrupt practices. Consequently, we hold that the second respondent (Wike) was not validly elected. We hereby order the first respondent (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in Rivers State,” it added.

So once again, valuable public funds, which are already in short supply, will be channelled towards funding an election which Wike will no doubt try to rig again.

This is a very sad state of affairs, to say the least.

READ: Tribunal cancels Wike's election victory

Election rigging is corruption, a crime which President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to prosecute and punish. Hence, election riggers who are found guilty by courts of law should be imprisoned, not allowed to once again vie for public office.

Nigeria is on a very delicate path to change and this means that the era of the criminal-politician is slowly but surely coming to an end.

READ: I will appeal Tribunal's ruling, Wike says

Therefore, the Electoral Act needs to be amended to reflect the current realities and ensure that everyone who steals from the Nigerian people during elections gets the reward of a thief and nothing else.

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