The governorship candidate of Accord Party in Rivers State, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, has stated Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is desperate to be sole governorship candidate in Rivers because of his poor performance and failure to deliver real dividends of democracy to people of the state.
The oil magnate (Lulu-Briggs), who until September 28, 2018 was a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke on Friday in Port Harcourt at a news conference.
Lulu-Briggs said: “We state in very strong terms that we are aware that this case (by Baridoo) is another dubious shenanigan by Wike, who is afraid to go into any legitimate contest in the forthcoming Rivers State governorship election and he is doing everything possible, including sponsoring court cases against strong opponents, in order to achieve his primitive ambition to contest the 2019 governorship election against himself alone.
“Wike’s connection in this dubious act is buttressed by the fact that Baridoo’s counsel, Wori N. Wori Esq, is from the law firm of Emmanuel Aguma, SAN, the deceased immediate past Attorney-General to Wike.
“Baridoo got elected as Rivers Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), months after his purported nomination as Accord Party’s governorship candidate, a position known to be occupied only by the cronies of the governor.
“We are at a loss to fathom how Baridoo, who claims to have resigned as Rivers State Accord Party’s Chairman to contest the October 4, 2018 governorship primaries could be elected a month after (in November 2018), as the State Chairman of IPAC, a position reserved only for party chairmen. It is obvious that Baridoo and his paymaster, Wike, are out to insult the intelligence of Rivers people.
“They said Baridoo, who has since been disowned by the Accord Party’s National Working Committee (NWC), was appointed into the caretaker committee of Khana LGA of Rivers State by the Wike-led PDP government.
“During the recent PDP’s presidential rally at Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Baridoo did not only declare support for the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, he led 56 so-called governorship candidates to step down for Wike and endorsed him for a second term.”
He added: “My quest to liberate Rivers State from the shackles of wicked politicians, who want to continue to punish and impoverish our men and women, instigate our youths into violence and bloodshed and deny our children quality education, is still on track.
“Dumo Lulu-Briggs is still in the race by the grace of God. I have no godfather, but God the father and by the grace of God and the will of Rivers people, we shall triumph and start the process to secure the future of every Rivers man, woman and child.”
The governorship candidate of Accord party also urged Rivers people to be law abiding and continue to support Accord as a political party.
He insisted that he was the recognised and officially-endorsed Rivers governorship candidate of Accord party, both by the NWC, leadership of the party and by INEC.
The oil magnate also maintained that Baridoo did not participate in Accord party’s primary election, conducted by the NWC/NEC of the party on October 4 last year as he claimed, with the national executive of the party earlier stating that Baridoo did not procure the expression of intent and the governorship nomination forms of the party.
The governorship candidate of Accord party noted that there was no proof that INEC issued Baridoo with form CF001, which is the document given to officially-nominated party candidates.
