TheCable

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, is reportedly making frantic efforts to stop Tonye Cole, All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, from participating in the 2023 elections.

Wike is reportedly making moves to remove Cole from the ballot in the 2023 governorship election through the judiciary. This, according to well-placed sources, is the reason the governor directed the Rivers state attorney-general to file a nine-count charge of stealing, conspiracy and cheating against Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation; Cole; Chamberlain Peterside (Amaechi’s commissioner for finance); Augustine Wokocha (Amaechi’s commissioner of power); Sahara Energy Resources Limited; NG Powers-HPS Limited and Cenpropsaroten Management Limited.

The charges were said to have been filed against Cole and the other defendants on June 20, 2022.

The matter is before Justice David Gbasam of the Rivers state high court.

The next adjourned court date for the matter is Thursday.

‘’Wike bragged to people in his close circle that Cole will be convicted by the Rivers State judiciary sooner than later, and that would bar Cole from participating in the governorship elections,’’ a source said.

‘’Wike says that his influence, reach and hold on the judiciary and judges in Nigeria go far beyond Rivers State. And he’s quick to cite as examples how he won the VAT case against the Federal Government in a Federal High Court and his winning of the 17 oil wells case against Imo State in the Supreme Court. Wike’s precise words are that the judiciary and judges in Rivers State and in this country are in his pocket.

‘’Furthermore, to achieve his plot of convicting Tonye Cole in the Rivers State High Court, Governor Wike has, painstakingly, drawn out an extensive and extremely expensive plot to woo former appointees who served in the administration of his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, to come and testify in court against Tonye Cole and the other Defendants. Wike wants to use these ex-appointees who served in government during Amaechi’s time as governor, as prosecution witnesses to build a strong case against Tonye Cole and the other defendants, especially to hoodwink members of the public into believing that Rivers State money was stolen by Tonye Cole and the other Defendants.

‘’For Wike, it is principally about the optics, to build public opinion and perception against Tonye Cole and the other Defendants. So, the trick is when members of the public see past government appointees, who were appointed by one of the Defendants, coming to court to testify against Tonye Cole and the other Defendants that would ostensibly make the story of fraud and corruption somehow credible. These former appointees of Amaechi will be acting as prosecution witnesses against the government they served in. But it is all a carefully plotted ruse to deceive the court and members of the public.

‘’Governor Wike is making promises to these former appointees who he wants to act as prosecution witnesses against Tonye Cole and the other defendants. Former Amaechi Commissioners, Special Advisers and Assistants are being promised mouth-watering homogenous sums of money and enormous government patronage to give false testimony against Tonye Cole and the other defendants.’’