Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said the government has intelligence report that a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC ) has armed political thugs to disrupt the June 16, local government election in the state.
Wike, in a state broadcast, yesterday, said the APC faction planned to disrupt the elections in Abua/Odual, Akuku Toru, Asari Toru, Degema, Emohua, Ikwerre, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Opobo and Tai local government areas.
He said: “The arrowheads of this satanic plot, the state Chairman of APC, Mr. Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, the former commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. Emmanuel Chinda, and the current Nigeria’s Ambassador to Netherlands, Ambassador Oji Ngofa, are allegedly recruiting and arming political thugs with guns to be deployed on the eve of the election, to create an atmosphere of insecurity in these and other local government areas and scare voters to shun the polling stations.”
The governor said the APC chairman has murder charges against him, adding that the chairman has refused to submit himself for trial.
“Yet, this fugitive to justice recently emerged as a factional state chairman of his party, against a court order, and is now emboldened by the protection he is getting from the police and the Federal Government, to engage in subversive activities against the interest of Rivers people.
“In the light of the dangerous threats from Ojukaye and his co-travellers, therefore, I wish to call on the security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police, to live up to their primary responsibility of providing adequate security for the election and deal decisively with those who may attempt to disturb the peace, order and security of the state before, during and after the election,” Wike said.
He said the state government has received concrete assurances from the heads of all the security agencies that they have put adequate measures to secure the peace and ensure orderly conduct of the election.
The governor said Rivers government would hold the security agencies professionally accountable should insecurity be experienced in the state in the course of the election.
He said: “Community leaders and the public should be on the watch out and report suspicious characters and movements, in their localities and neighbourhoods, to the law enforcement agencies for immediate action.
“Also, the security agencies have definite instructions, to strictly enforce the restrictions on human and vehicular movement on election day, and arrest any person or group of persons who violate this order.
“All those, who have no official business with the election should, therefore, stay away from the polling units after casting their votes or risk arrest and prosecution.”
The governor said there is no legal obstacle stopping the conduct of the June 16, 2018 local government election.
He said: “As things stand now, we have no other choice, but to conduct the local government election and allow democracy to thrive, once again, at the grassroots, and drive the development of our communities.
“I can confirm to you that the election will take place as scheduled in all the 4,442 units, 319 wards and 23 local government areas of the state, as there is no legal obstacle, significant enough, to warrant otherwise.
-Sun
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