The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated Governor Nyesom Wike and members of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over their alleged attempts to drag the main opposition APC into their war against security agencies.
APC in Rivers, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, yesterday described Wike, state Chairman of PDP Chief Felix Obuah and other members of the factionalised ruling party in the state as jokers.
Obuah had earlier alleged that 24 hours after the 15-member panel set up by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to investigate the violence that erupted during the December 10 last year’s bloody legislative rerun visited Wike in Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday, 21 ad hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who took part in the elections and served in areas where candidates of the PDP won were arrested and detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Port Harcourt.
Obuah said the police had become a tool of witchhunt by the Federal Government and certain Rivers politicians of the APC.
He also condemned the alleged “unholy” alliance involving security agencies, INEC and APC at the centre.
The main opposition APC in Rivers, however, said: “Despite our determined efforts and resolve to steer clear of Wike and PDP’s war against Nigerian security agencies, the governor and his party appear very determined to drag the APC into the fray of what seems to be a war they cannot win.
“The APC notes with shock that Rivers PDP chairman is accusing the Nigeria police of becoming the security arm of APC. This is a joke taken too far by every decent standard in politics.
“The PDP chairman also accused the Nigeria Police of arresting 21 ad hoc staff of INEC who took part in the rerun in the state.
“While the APC will not attempt to speak for the Nigeria police, we wish to state that the Rivers PDP chairman and his drowning supporters are simply crying wolf, and this is typical of them and therefore not surprising to many.
“We do not see why the PDP should be too worried that ad hoc staff of INEC or indeed anybody is invited by the Nigeria Police to assist them on any issue.
“How that becomes a source of worry for the PDP is baffling to us.
“Could it be a confirmation of our long-held suspicion that PDP smuggled their members into the INEC ad hoc staff list in order to do their bidding? Or could the investigation of the ad hoc staff possibly lead to the unravelling of possible extent and dimensions of compromise of INEC officials by Wike and the PDP, hence the apprehension and false alarm?
“The APC is convinced that the camp of the PDP is presently thrown into confusion because the invited ad hoc INEC staff are likely to confess and name those who compromised them over the December 10 rerun elections, and that is the reason behind the panic mode Rivers PDP and Wike have suddenly found themselves in.”
APC also reminded the Rivers governor and his PDP that clear conscience would fear no accusation, since the truth would ultimately prevail.
It noted that the purported arrest and transfer of INEC’s 21 ad hoc staff to Abuja by the police, even if true, should not elicit the sort of animated frenzy that had become evident of the Rivers governor and PDP in Rivers State.
The party wondered if INEC and its staff in Rivers State had become the election administrative arm of Rivers PDP.
The APC called on the Nigeria police and other security agencies not to be fazed by Wike’s antics and empty threats, describing them as his stock in trade, without which the state governor might never function true to type.
Obuah, reacting to APC’s position, said he observed with grave concern the alleged persistent assaults and unwarranted actions of the police and some security agencies on members of PDP in Rivers State, the state governor and the leadership and candidates of the party before, during and after the rerun, which he claimed were carried out in sleek alliance with and on the directive of the ruling APC at the centre.
Rivers PDP chairman said: “Even though the unholy alliance is no longer a secret to Rivers people, the APC has extended its venom on 21, so far, of the INEC ad hoc staff who served as electoral officers during the December 10, 2016 elections with arrest and detention, for not cooperating with them to rig the rerun.
“Worried over this ugly development, the PDP had condemned such action, calling on the authorities to do the proper thing to avert total breakdown of democratic standards and process in the country and to which the APC made a reaction, the content of which, interestingly, confirmed strong collaboration between the party and the police.
“Very sad indeed, the APC in Rivers State now acts as the official police image maker. The party (APC) is working with the police and directing them on whom to arrest.
“But of more concern and dangerous is a situation where the Nigeria police, under the current IGP, have now inarguably become an arm of the APC. This is a real threat to the survival of the nation’s democracy and peace in our dear state.
“Another serious cause for concern and pointer to the truth about this police-APC common understanding is the frequent visits by Rivers State APC chieftains to the IGP’s office in Abuja and persistent boast by leaders of the APC of using the powers, including the police force under their control to achieve what they want in Rivers State, as long as the Muhammadu Buhari government remains in the saddle.
“This, to us, is unhealthy and should be checked accordingly, as we suspect the visit is, among other things, to influence the conduct of the police activities and to cause security breach in Rivers State to justify their push for the truncation of a ‘performing’ government in the state, even though they cannot achieve it.
“The PDP members in Rivers State will continue to toe the path of peace, non-violence and civility in all of our undertakings in dealing with these matters and subsequent ones as they unfold, even as we appeal to all Rivers people and men and women of conscience to remain resolute and pray for God to touch the hearts of those who want to destroy the state for their selfish aim to desist and join in the development revolution and wind of peace that Governor Wike’s PDP government has offered in Rivers State.”
Obuah also called on the APC members and leaders to stop dancing in the ring of illusion and face the alleged turmoil in the party, while reminding the IGP of a day of reckoning.
When contacted on the telephone, the Spokesman of Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), declined comments on the arrest of INEC’s 21 ad hoc staff, saying that their arrest might have been effected by members of the IGP’s investigative panel from Abuja, making him ineligible to comment on it.
It will be recalled that six policemen were dismissed for disobeying senior police officers by preventing officials of INEC from moving the results of elections from polling units in Emohua Local Government Area of the state to the appropriate collation centre; an action that contravened the provisions of Force Order 237.
The errant policemen, upon arriving the collation centre with Wike, had started shooting sporadically into the air without provocation, contrary to the directive of the IGP.
The IGP also said the six policemen flouted his directive not to support politicians to rig elections, leading to their dismissal for unethical conduct and prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.
The police authorities also stated that the six policemen were found guilty of breaching the police conduct, despite warnings from the IGP, according to the police Spokesperson, Don Awunah, who insisted that in the case of the December 10, 2016 parliamentary elections in Rivers, Idris’ resolve to secure the process was reciprocated with the unethical conduct of some “bad eggs” within the police force.
The affected policemen are AP/No.177893, ex. Inspr. Eyong Victor; F/No. 400872, ex. Sgt Peter Ekpo; F/No.374585, ex. Sgt Oguni Goodluck; F/No. 385870, ex. Sgt. Orji Nwoke; F/No. 234216 ex. Sgt. Okpe Ezekiel and F/No. 437983, ex. Sgt. Tanko Akor.