…Accuses Military, Police Of Alleged Plan To Destabilize The State
…Provides Free Buses To Convey Voters To Their Respective Voting Locations
Daniel Efe
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has called on the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to accept the reality that their party will not be on the ballot for the 2019 General elections in the state.
Governor Wike urged the leaders of Rivers APC to accept the judgment of the Supreme Court as the will of God, saying that nobody can resurrect a dead horse.
The governor made the call on Thursday in a
State broadcast on the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections
coming up on Saturday, 23rd February, 2019.
The governor said: “Truth be told, the Supreme Court has spoken. INEC has confirmed. It is the will of God and there is nothing anybody can do to return the APC to the ballot for the 2019 general elections in Rivers State.
“But this, I believe, is not the end of life
for the APC in Rivers State. There is always another day and as political
leaders, we must have the courage to accept the reality, know when to stop
fighting for nothing and tell our followers the simple truth, even if it may
sound bitter. I would therefore advice my brothers in the APC to endeavor to
put their house in order, allow the prevailing peace to continue and prepare
for 2023”.
Governor Wike told the Rivers APC to desist from violence, noting that if they choose to destroy the State or kill and maim everybody because of power or someone else’s ambition to be President, there might be no one left for them to lord over when everyone is dead.
He said: “Remember, the army and the police
officers you are relying on to kill your own people may come and go, but Rivers
State will always be. Believe it or not, we are all from Rivers State
irrespective of party differences and no other interest can supersede the
collective interest of our State.
“Let me assure everyone that the
collective interest of our State will continue to guide our actions and we
shall continue to accommodate everybody irrespective of party affiliation in
our schemes of governance.”
The governor said that the State
Government is aware of the plot by the All Progressives Congress to
scuttle the general elections in the State. He said there are point men who are
architects of the planned electoral violence in the state.
He said: “Indeed, the champions of this evil plot met at the residence of one Bestman Amadi and the former Commissioner of Lands Mr. Ezemonye Ezekiel-Amadi has already mobilized thugs with N10,000,000.00 to attack voters and disrupt the voting exercise in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
“My office is also inundated with reports of the partisan activities of the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigeria Army Major General Jamil Sarham and the State Commander of the Anti-Robbery Squad Mr. Victor Akin Fakorede who have signed on to unlawfully deploy military and SARS operatives to actualize the APC’s plot to destabilize the State and create avoidable crisis in the State.
READ ALSO: Governor Again Alleges 6 Division Nigerian Army Plans To Arrest Some Rivers Council Chairmen Ahead
“We condemn the unprofessional and provocative activities of General Jamil Sarham and Mr. Victor Akin Fakorede and plead with the international community to hold the duo responsible for any election-related violence and or crisis in Rivers State”.
He appealed to the National Chairman on
Peace , the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police to
prevail on the two partisan security chiefs to excuse themselves from
participating in the elections in Rivers State.
He said: ” I appeal to the
Chairman of the National Council on Peace, General Abdusalam Abubakar, the
Chief of Army State General Tukur Yusuf Buratai and the Acting Inspector
General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Adamu to prevail on Major General
Jamil Sarham and Mr. Akin Fakorede to excuse themselves from elections duties
in the State”.
Governor Wike said that the rescheduled
General elections present a golden opportunity for Rivers people to
partake with the rest of Nigerians to move the country forward and shape
a brighter future for posterity.
“No sacrifice is too much to pay to sustain
our democracy. God loves us and there can be no better opportunity for us to
use the power at our disposal to effect the genuine change that we need.
“We should therefore be profoundly inspired
and motivated by the frustrations of the postponement of the election to come
out in numbers to vote for the candidates of our choice.
“God forbid, the next generation will not
forgive us if we fail to take full advantage of the political momentum to
reposition our State for greatness in the comity of States”, he said.
Governor Wike assured everyone that the
collective interest of Rivers State will continue to guide his
administration. He said his administration will continue to accommodate
everybody irrespective of party affiliation in the schemes of governance.
He announced the provision of free buses to
convey Rivers people to their respective locations for the
rescheduled elections beginning on Thursday, February 21, 2019.
He said: “In order to ease transport
difficulties I have directed the immediate release of 18 luxurious buses to
take people, irrespective of political affiliation, to vote in their
communities from today 21stFebruary 2019 and return you back to Port Harcourt
after the elections free of charge. The Commissioner for Transport will release
details of the routes to be covered by the free bus services”.
He urged the Federal Government to remain
neutral and protect the sanctity of the ballot as stated by the sanctity
of the ballot.
However it would recalled that the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army
alerted that credible intelligence available to it has uncovered an unholy plan
by some political actors within its Area of Responsibility (AOR) to arm and
sponsor miscreants in addition to using military-like fatigue dress for
deception to cause pandemonium at polling stations for their political gain.
In a press statement signed Colonel Aminu ILyasu, Deputy Director Army Public Relations, said that covert efforts are on-going to track the source of the weapons and the agents involved in conjunction with sister security agencies, authorities of 6 Division NA but unequivocally stated that anyone found to be disrupting the electoral process under any guise will be decisively dealt with in accordance with the laws no matter how highly placed he or she is.
“To this end, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division
and Land Component Commander (LCC) OPDS Maj Gen Jamil Sarham wish to reassure
the good people of Niger Delta of providing adequate security in conjunction
with other security agencies before, during and after the 2019 General
Elections”
He also thanks the good citizens of the Niger Delta for their
cooperation and assistance so far rendered to the Division particularly in the
area of information dissemination and urge them to do more.
