The Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, is poised to sign into law the resolution of the Rivers State House of Assembly to derecognise Sir Celestine Ngozichim Omehia as a former Governor of the state.
The decision to delist Omehia followed a resolution by all twenty-one members of the House in support of the motion.
The lawmakers thereafter decided to forward their resolution to the state governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, for ratification.
Sir Omehia was, until Thursday, the fourth Governor of Rivers State, from 29 May 2007 to 25 October 2007, under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He served as Rivers State Commissioner of Education between February 1992 and November 1993 and was later appointed an adviser to Governor Peter Odili.
He was declared the winner of the Rivers State gubernatorial election of 2007.
The election was held on April 14, 2007, amidst alleged widescale vote rigging and violence.
Omehia was sworn in as Governor of the rich oil-producing state on 29 May 2007 after he took over from Dr. Peter Odili.
On October 25, 2007, the Supreme Court annulled Omehia’s election and ruled that Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi was the PDP’s legitimate candidate.
Amaechi had won the PDP primaries, but the party had substituted Omehia at the last moment due to allegations of graft.
In October 2009, Omehia asked the supreme court to review their opinion.
The court denied the request and insisted that Amaechi was the legitimate candidate. Read more.