Rivers APC Campaign Organisation Blasts Wike Over Campaign Violence, Utterances

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Friday, January 16th, 2015

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Ezebuwon Wike, has been condemned for the violent utterances and threats to the peace of the state he made during his Thursday campaign at Abua Central, headquarters of Abua/Odual local government.

Nigeria’s Education minister (state) Nyesome Wike

Violence had broken out between two suspected pro-Wike cult groups fighting for greater relevance in the PDP governorship candidate’s large war chest leading to the death of some persons with many injured.

In its reaction through Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Director of Communications, the Greater Together Campaign Organisation, the campaign team for the governorship of All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, said it was appalled that a man who aspires to lead Rivers State would through his utterances, instigate mob action. “We are shocked and appalled that the man PDP has presented as its governorship candidate loves and promotes violence. By his utterances at Abua last Thursday, Wike has shown that nothing peaceful can ever come out of him. A snake would always give birth to that which is long”, the statement read in part.

The Greater Together Campaign Organisation described as “worrisome” threats by Wike that his organisation would attack those he claimed were behind the Abua violence anytime they visited Port Harcourt. “Wike, by his utterances, has left Rivers people with no option to search far for the harbinger and precursor of the politically-motivated violence going on across the state. Wike not only unilaterally declared certain Abua politicians responsible for the violence, but went on to boast he would order the Rivers State Commissioner for Police to arrest the persons he named.

To us in Greater Together Campaign Organisation, Wike stoked the ember of further and future violence in the old fashion of infamous Mark Anthony whose speech plunged the Roman mob into violence and Rome into eventual Civil War”.

The statement continued, “Indeed, we are worried that Wike, in his signature manner, has continued to breathe fire and brimstone on the people he claims a desire to govern. How would Wike become the complainant, prosecutor and judge, all at the same time, in his own case?

We are the more worried that Wike, who claims to be a lawyer, laid a bait for the few persons at his campaign ground to take mob action against APC leaders in Abua.

As a lawyer, we expected him to have lodged his complaint with the police, give them free hands to carry out a thorough and unbiased investigation into the matter. But Wike has refused to grant the Rivers State Police Command its due respect and honour.

He has revealed a sinister plot to turn the police into his puppet, a dangerous road to thread as we head towards the 2015 general elections. And since he ranks himself above the law, we wonder whether the police will corner him up for questioning.

“Why has Wike and PDP in Rivers State become apostles of violence? It is on record that violence had trailed every local government Wike and his PDP had gone to on campaign. It’d been one day, one trouble with Wike and PDP. We wonder whether Anezi Okoro would not have wished to revise his popular juvenilia, One Week One Trouble, to make Wike the protagonist instead of Wilson Tagbo.

“Wike is not only violent but has tutored his followers to always practice violence. Everywhere he had visited for campaign, violent acts that included massive destruction of APC billboards and posters, had announced that his imminent visit. Rivers people no longer want to tune to the radio to hear when Wike would visit a local government. Any morning residents of a community wake up to see that all APC billboards and posters in their area had been damaged over night, they would know that Wike is on his way to their community.

“If Wike had nothing to hide, we expected him to follow the procedures of report, investigate, prosecute, where culpability arises. Even in that chain of actions to seek justice, a complainant, the police and a judge act appropriately to determine the merit and justice or otherwise in a matter, prior to prosecution. Wike, who is a lawyer, snubbed all those steps.

There is no doubt that the PDP governorship candidate is ruled by emotions and so, we question his mental stability to govern a state.

“PDP and its governorship candidate, Wike, are never tired of violence.

Early Friday, these harbingers of violence struck at the APC Secretariat in Andoni. The party office was razed. By familiar calculations, Rivers people already know the perpetrators.

“Violence does not win elections. Reason and good judgment demand that a candidate for the exalted office of governor should sale his program to the electorate, woo them to share in his dream, then convince them on the need to vote for him on election day. Surprisingly, rather than doing that, Wike and his PDP are busy planting discord and brewing violence. We condemn in its entirety this chart for violence and advise Wike to pull off his toga of violence and embrace peace which is what Rivers State needs.

Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Director, Communications

Greater Together Campaign Organisation