[dropcap]A[/dropcap] lot has been said about the unlawful printing of sensitive materials for #RiversRerun by the All Progressives Congress, APC, believably on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which is now calling for the prosecution of the culprits. At the center of the syndicate is Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside, a cousin to Mr. Dakuku Peterside, the defeated APC gubernatorial candidate of Rivers State, and believably as mooted in some quarters, the sole sponsor of the printing business.
This piece seeks to x-ray the person at the center of the scandal, Deacon Dimieari-Peterside, now being primed as the fall guy and sacrificial lamb of the APC in a bid to establish whether or not he is politically exposed as denied by both himself and the leadership of the APC in Rivers State.
Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside, born on the 26th day of September, 1966 is senior to his cousin, Dakuku Peterside, and began his foray into partisan politics as far back as the zero party era of then Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, in 1996, when he was the Revenue Committee Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro local government area.
Apart from once being a member of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), Deacon Atonyesia was a founding member of Vanguard of Opobo Nation (VON) along with Dr. Sam Sam-Jaja, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja and Dr. Dakuku Peterside. VON, a socio-political organisation of the Opobo people of Rivers State, was a rallying point for galvanising the aspiration and participation of the people in the politics of Rivers State and was often at loggerheads with a group allegedly sponsored by a one-time Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Sir G.T.G Toby.
While at VON, he was a contributing Editor and was said to be once arrested by the State Security Services for writing a defamatory story against a certain Milliscent Jaja, the then CTC Chairperson of his local government area. He had to recant the story via several publications, thereafter.
In 1998, under APP, he ran an unsuccessful bid for the Opobo/Nkoro House of Assembly seat and re-contested in 2011 under PDP and came a close second in the race.
While it is generally believed in some quarters that his engagement as Special Assistant to the then Deputy Governor and a kinsman of his, Sir Gabriel T. G. Toby was in compensation for his failed bid, as was often the practice at the time, others hold the view that his appointment followed his suspension from VON, in which he was Public Relations Officer, for fraternising with the opposing group loyal to Sir G.T.G Toby at the time and was, therefore, the basis for his appointment. He however returned to the fold after Sir G.T.G’s term with Dr. Odili as Governor elapsed.
Under former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, as a member of the APC, he was appointed a member of the Caretaker Committee of Opobo/Nkoro local government area and went on to become the campaign coordinator of the APC in Opobo/Nkoro LGA and a collation agent of the APC at the 2015 Governorship Election contested by his junior cousin, Dakuku Peterside.
Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside is a devout Christian and a friend of many across Party lines. The insinuation by the Rivers State Chairman of the APC that he is a thug being used to frame the Party, and unknown to the Party, is most unfortunate and intended to sacrifice him in the interest of keeping the Party afloat. Although in a radio interview, a man mentioned to be at the heart of this entire scandal who may possibly be the Chief of the syndicate and believed to be at large, Mr. Emma Chinda, while acknowledging his acquaintance to Deacon Atonyesia, completely denies engaging him in the criminal enterprise of printing INEC Result sheets for the Rivers Rerun elections.
Atonyesia, who has confessed and made statements to printing the said materials appears to being already primed as the fall guy. But in the face of the many denials by APC Chieftains, especially Mr. Emma Chinda, the spotlight is beamed on Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who has not only not denied ownership of the building that houses the Printing Press, believed to be also set up by him, but the fact that for many years he also operated out of that same building.
It has been said in some quarters, that it is impossible for Dakuku Peterside, given the consistent coincidences, to claim oblivion of the goings-on in that building and Press Office. There is bound to be more he knows. While indeed, it is only Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside’s confession that invites Emma Chinda into the matter, there’s more that pegs Dakuku to it, including but not limited to the reluctance of Deacon Peterside to give his own name as less than what it truly was, shielding his identity as a Peterside to merely being Peters, in order to, as presumed, protect the identity of another Peterside.
It should also be noted that while nothing invites Sen. Magnus Abe to the scandal and crime, the entirety of the scheme was to be for his benefit as most of the printed result sheets were for his Senatorial District, which remains the prime target of the APC against the will and mandate of Rivers people.
As the rage from all sides fires on, one thing is certain, the last has not been heard of these scandalous criminality championed by the APC, a Political Party that promised sweeping change and an end to corruption. What an irony.
Gift Jackson is a freelance journalist based in Abuja. He can be reached via email HERE.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
