Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has
called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to disrupt elections
in the state because its candidates are not on the ballot.
In a state broadcast Thursday, Wike said
he was aware of plans by the APC to violently disrupt elections in the
state on account of their names not being on the ballot.
He alleged that he was aware that some
chieftains of the APC had mobilised thugs with N10 million to attack
voters and disrupt the voting exercise in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The governor called on the party to
accept the judgment of the Supreme Court as implemented by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and refrain from
anything that would disrupt the peace in the state.
Wike said: “Truth be told, the Supreme
Court has spoken. INEC has confirmed. It is the will of God. 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 advise my brothers in the APC to endeavour to put their house
in order, allow the prevailing peace to continue and prepare for 2023.
“If you choose to destroy the state or
kill and maim everybody because of power or someone else’s ambition to
be president, there may be no one left for you to lord over when
everyone is dead.
“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 this
state irrespective of party differences, and no other interest can
supersede the collective interest of our state.”
The governor also said his office had
been inundated with reports of the partisan activities of the key
officers of the army and the police in the state “who have signed on to
unlawfully deploy military and SARS operatives to actualise the APC plot
to destabilise the state and create avoidable crisis in the state.”
He appealed to the chairman of the
National Council on Peace, the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector
General of Police (IG) to prevail on the two partisan security chiefs to
excuse themselves from participating in the elections in the state.
Wike said: “I appeal to the Chairman of
the National Council on Peace, General Abdusalam Abubakar; the Chief of
Army Staff, General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, and the acting Inspector
General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, to prevail on Major
General Jamil Sarham and Mr. Akin Fakorede to excuse themselves from
election duties in the state.”
He said the rescheduled general election
presents 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.
According to him, “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.”