Why Governor Wike Was Sacked

Rivers State  Elections  Vanguard  Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, yesterday, nullified the April 11 election that brought Governor Nyesom Wike to power.
The three-man tribunal, headed by Justice Suleiman Ambrosa, upheld the petition filed  against the election  by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its gubernatorial candidate in the state, Hon. Dakuku Peterside.
Peterside hailed the verdict as a victory for democracy in Nigeria while Wike and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vowed to appeal.
On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said  it will decide what to do after receiving a copy of the judgment.

The tribunal maintained that the petitioners successfully proved that the governorship poll  was characterised by violence and corrupt practices.
“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,”it said.
“We are further convinced that the election was  characterised 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”.
The tribunal contended  that  the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, did not conduct the election in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and its guidelines for the poll.
It noted that whereas the electoral body had, in a  statement, prior to the election, stressed that Card Reader Machines must be used to accredit voters, evidence  adduced before it showed that  INEC officials resorted to manual accreditation.
The tribunal observed that INEC’s directive, that election should be postponed in any polling unit where the Card Reader Machine malfunctioned, was not adhered to.
“Guidelines that were issued by INEC for the conduct of the election were clear and unambiguous to the effect that where Card Reader fails, poll should be postponed rather than resort to manual accreditation.  It was  not for anybody to go outside the guidelines,”it stated.
Vanguard