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Tag: Okrika

  • 2019: Investigate all electoral infractions now – PANDEF tells FG

    The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) on Friday called on the Federal Government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, to immediately investigate all electoral infractions that took place during the 2019 general elections held on February 23 and March 9, 2019.

    While stressing that there should be no sacred cows in the investigation, PANDEF also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to bring to conclusion the process of collation of the Rivers State Governorship Election Results and the winner declared, so as to douse the political tension in the State.

    In a statement by the National Secretary of PANDEF, Alfred Mulade and made available to the Nation, the group appealed to the Federal Government to de-militarize the Niger Delta, so as to enable every citizen go about his/her lawful endeavors.

    The statement reads: “The reported killings, militarization, intimidation, electoral gangsterism and the attendant security situation in some states in the Niger Delta, particularly, in Bayelsa and Rivers States, has become a source of worry.

    “The Abonnema killings in Rivers State, reportedly orchestrated and perpetrated by the military and political thugs, apparently working on the influence of certain politicians with nefarious tendencies, during the Presidential election held on February 23, 2019, is a classic example of how certain desperate politicians and soldiers could instigate mayhem on innocent and defenceless citizens.

    “It must be noted with  every sense of responsibility  the dastardly act of militarization, intimidation, killings, electoral gangsterism and brinkmanship, during this period, and particularly  heightened during the governorship and House of Assembly polls  on March 9, 2019, as was seen in the case of Rivers State,  is not one anybody should pride himself about.”

    READ ALSO: Hungry old men endorsed Atiku – PANDEF

    PANDEF stated that the show of brigandage allegedly demonstrated in Rivers State, by the Army, the Air Force, the Police and other paramilitary personnel by invading the Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC) Office in Port Harcourt, in a bid to arm-twist and intimidate the INEC Officials in a bid to swing the results of the election to a predetermined candidate, is very dangerous for democracy.

    The Forum noted that the action by the military, was condemnable, and should be condemned by every lover of the Nigeria project, adding that for the fact that the Army issued a denial of their involvement in the shameful act was not enough to completely exonerate them.

    It added that the more the denials from the Military, the more their professionalism, rules of engagement, efficiency and neutrality becomes foggy and doubtful.

    “Is the military ‘crying’ that bloody civilians’ have taken over their duties?

    “If the Theory of neutrality being canvassed by the military is anything to go by, how come the harassment of innocent Niger Deltans in the likes of  Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, HRM Ateke Tom, Traditional Ruler of Okochiri – Okrika and a host of others?.

    “Why has the Army been so involved and entangled with election matters that they are now being out-smarted by so-called civilians-in-uniform?” the statement querried.

    “It must be placed on record, and the Federal Government must be reminded that, the Army, statutorily, has NO business with election duties, and so should NOT have been so deployed, in the first place.

    This is a matter that has been conveniently laid to rest by the Court of Appeal, in 2015,” the statement read further.

  • IYC crisis: Okrika convention is illegal – Omare Exco

    IYC crisis: Okrika convention is illegal – Omare Exco

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has discarded an ongoing convention by one of its factions in Okrika, Rivers state, as a gross violation of the law, admonishing all to disregard the process and its outcome.

    Spokesman of the IYC, Henry Iyalla, in a statement made available to journalists Saturday, said the apex Ijaw youth body had elected new executive council, the leader of which is Eric Omare as President, on the 2nd and 3rd of March, 2017, at a convention administered by its immediate past president, Udengs Eradiri, in Burutu town, Delta state.

    The statement further stated that the ongoing process in Okrika, being spearheaded by some former leaders of the body is illegal and futile because the constitution of the IYC mandates only an outgoing president to conduct the convention that will produce a new and succeeding executive council.

    “The IYC national leadership wishes to call on Ijaw youths and members of the public to completely disregard the purported election being called by some former leaders of the IYC.

    “The IYC has since the 2nd to 3rd of March, 2017 at BURUTU town, Delta State duly conducted elections into the National Executive Council at the instance of the then President and leader of the council, Udengs Eradiri. Udengs Eradiri had since handed over the leadership of IYC to Eric Omare as President.

    “We wish to state clearly that former leaders of IYC have no power whatsoever to call for a convention for the purpose of conducting elections into the IYC National Executive Council. We advise the few IYC former leaders involved to maintain their advisory role rather than assuming executive functions and becoming partisan.

    “It is also important to alert the reading public to know that whatever that is being planned or happening at Okrika, Rivers State is being done in flagrant disregard of the rule of law. The question of IYC leadership is already a subject of litigation before the Bayelsa State High Court and parties have been asked to maintain the status quo”, the statement said.

    The statement, however, called on security agencies to swing into action and ensure the that all parties respects the rule of law, adding that the Omare executive council believes in the peaceful resolution of all issues at stake

  • ‘You can’t plunge Okrika into crisis again’

    The Director of Communications of the Greater Together Campaign Organisation, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has said the organisation will not allow Okrika to be plunged into crisis again.

    The organisation is the campaign vehicle of the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku  Peterside.

    Semenitari, who is also the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, yesterday in Port Harcourt, said the Okrika women, who protested against her in Port Harcourt, were alledly sponsored by the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Semenitari, who also hails from Okrika by marriage, but  an indigene of  Opobo, said: “The people who purportedly summoned me do not have any locus to do so. Miss Bertha Dede is the PDP women’s leader (in Okrika). She cannot speak on behalf of Okrika women. She cannot speak for her PDP women. We know and we have been properly informed that the so-called rally was sponsored by top members of the PDP.”

    The fact of the matter is that Miss Bertha Dede does not have the right to summon me before herself.

    “The allegations are baseless. Nigerians watched the rally (live on national television stations) and at no time did I mention the name of the First Lady (Dame Jonathan), not to talk of making disparaging remarks about her. It is ridiculous. They said I had three children. It is already a clear indication that everything they said is a mere fabrication of their own imagination. I know the number of children I have.”

    Semenitari also stated that it was obvious that some people who were mischievous and who wanted to attack the APC leaders in Okrika and Rivers state, were continuing to fan the embers of hate and looking for how they could attack the chieftains of the ruling APC in Rivers.

    The Rivers commissioner for information and communications said: “They have threatened that they do not want APC leaders to come to Okrika. They have threatened that APC leaders in Okrika will not be allowed to come out on election days.

    “They have tried their best to throw Okrika into chaos, but because APC leaders are very committed to the peace and security of Okrika and the state, we have decided that we will not allow them plunge our community into crisis again. That is our stand and we will continue to maintain that stand. Okrika belongs to all of us . No one person owns Okrika more than the other.

    “They will not chase us out of that town. However, because all of us are Okrika people, we will not keep quiet and allow them destroy our town. No matter what they do to get us to fight them, we will hold our peace and we will continue to trust God that Okrika land will not know violence.

    “The truth is that I have nothing to do with the things they have said. I did not say them. My remarks are on Y-Tube. They are everywhere. The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Channels Television transmitted the rally live.”

    Semenitari also admonished Rivers people, especially the indigenes and residents of Okrika, to continue to give peace a chance.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Police arrest three Okrika mayhem suspects

    Police arrest three Okrika mayhem suspects

    Police detectives have queried top Rivers Peoples Democratic party (PDP) members over the mayhem at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Okrika, hometown of First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan, The Nation learnt last night.

    Hon. Evans Bipi, who claims to be the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, was, on Wednesday, quizzed by the police.Two other prominent members of the PDP, including Hon. Bright Tamuno Gogo, were also invited  to explain their roles in the incident.

    The lawmaker, who represents Ogu/Bolo constituency in the state legislature, has been accused by the Rivers APC leadership of being the mastermind of the bombings and shootings at the rally.

      Bipi told the detectives that he was nowhere near Okrika on that day and also threatened to sue the APC for making such an allegation against him.

    The rally, which was being addressed by the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, was attacked by hoodlums. A policeman was killed and a Channels Television reporter, Charles Eruka, was stabbed. Several others sustained injuries either from the explosions or the gun shots. Vehicles were destroyed.

    Following the directive of the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, on February 20, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 6 Tunde Ogunsakin, visited Okrika National Secondary School, the scene of the February 17 violence.

    AIG Ogunsakin constituted a team of detectives to investigate the incident. According to a source close to the investigation team, the team has made major discoveries.

    The team, said a source, has invited several key stakeholders and “they have made useful comments to assist the police”.

    The Ogunsakin-led team, according to a source close to the team, has arrested three suspects who shot at security operatives. It was also disclosed that some of the items recovered from one of the perpetrators belong to an APC member.

    AIG Ogunsakin did not answer his calls and did not reply any of the text messages sent to his telephone.

    A source close to a member of the team said 10 cars were burnt as against the earlier report of four.

  • Sad tales from Okrika

    Last Tuesday was a particularly bad day for the Rivers State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the now rescheduled April 11 gubernatorial election Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside.  As you all know, he almost lost his life while campaigning in Okrika, the home town of our First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

    Those who watched the event live on Channels Television were shocked as unknown gunmen rained bullets on Peterside and his team as he mounted the podium to address thousands of Mrs. Jonathan’s kinsmen/women who had gathered enthusiastically to listen to the man who could be the next governor of their state.

    As the reign of terror continued, there was pandemonium everywhere. Those who could ran as far as their legs could take them while many more took cover to avoid being hit. By the time the gunmen were done, a police corporal, Ifeanyi Okorie, 33, was killed while no fewer than 50 others, including the Channels television reporter Charles Eruka were injured.

    The Okrika mayhem was the height of the series of violence that had characterized electioneering campaigns in Rivers State since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) signaled the beginning of this general elections cycle. The violence had been targeted at the APC campaigns and fingers, rightly or wrongly, are being pointed at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    To be sincere, the violence was not unexpected judging by the intense rivalry between the ruling APC in the State and the opposition PDP. But the scale was unexpected. No one would have thought that guns and other firearms would be used to disrupt campaign rallies, to the extent of even threatening the life of the governorship candidate of a major party.

    Whoever was behind the attack did mean well for Rivers State. If any harm had been done to Peterside that day, where would Rivers State and indeed Nigeria be today? What would have become of our democracy?

    In the run up to that disrupted APC campaign, explosions had gone off earlier in the day near the campaign ground, destroying public properties. Even before last Tuesday, APC offices had been similarly bombed in different parts of the state by unknown people. Nobody has yet been brought to book for these.

    Peterside taking his campaign to Okrika was an act of bravery as Mrs. Jonathan and her supporters including former warlord Ateke Toms had reportedly vowed never to allow him campaign in their backyard. But for a man who intends to govern the whole of Rivers State, no part of the state is or should be a no go area.

    The Okrika attack should be a source of concern to President Goodluck Jonathan not just because a repeat of such could derail this democracy, but most importantly, the attack took place in his wife’s community. Mrs. Jonathan is noted for picking quarrel with anybody who dared to stand in her way. And her husband has never for once called her to order.

    At the height of the criminality unleashed on the Niger Delta by a section of the then Niger Delta militants, Okrika waterfront served as the hideout for the criminals terrorizing Port Harcourt and environs,  and when Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi attempted to clean up the area, Mrs. Jonathan resisted claiming to be fighting her peoples cause. Hmmmm.

    And now to allow APC campaign in her backyard, we are told is something she doesn’t want to hear. Well, Madam must hear this. The people of Okrika, just like every other community in Rivers State deserve to see and hear from all the candidates jostling to become the next governor of the state. It doesn’t matter which party; it is their right. They should have enough information to assess all the candidates before making their choice on the day of election.

    This kind of attack doesn’t present the president, his wife and the PDP well before the public. If such was going to happen anywhere at all it should not be in Okrika because nobody would believe it if they deny knowledge of it. But should such even happen anywhere at all?

    We have been told several times that the president is a good person but surrounded by bad people. But I ask, why must a good person surround himself with bad people? It is either of two things; the person is bad but pretending to be good, or is incapable of identifying and picking good people as aides. And if you find yourself surrounded by bad people accidentally, why is it difficult to dispense with their services?

    How the president deals with the Okrika attack would go a long way to show whether he truly believes in giving Nigeria a free, fair and credible elections. You might want to ask what has Jonathan got to do with it after all it is the business of the security agencies .  A lot. If the president is determined to provide a level playing field for everybody, then he should go ahead today and give a firm instruction to the Inspector General of Police to fish out those behind the Okrika attack and their sponsors and punish them accordingly. That is what a commander -in -chief should do.

    The danger here if the perpetrators were not fished out and punished is that others might be encouraged to try out a similar thing as we move towards the general election. And if such became the order of the day then this democracy would be in serious trouble.

     

    Fayose’s death wish for Buhari

    Part of the problem with President Jonathan is his penchant for surrounding himself with bad people (as stated above) like Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. Repeatedly the governor has been speaking on the health of the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari , saying the former Head of State is not healthy enough to assume Nigeria’s presidency and would probably die in office if elected.

    Jonathan has not distanced himself from Fayose over this nor has he called him to order, suggesting that he tacitly support the erratic governor. When key supporters of Jonathan talks like this and the president keeps quiet, it says a lot about him and this is disturbing even to some of his genuine supporters. Comments like this from people like Fayose would further alienate Jonathan from right thinking Nigerians. If the president had called the governor to order even in private, he would not go about repeating this death wish for Buhari.

    Death is a necessary end for everybody and it will come when it will. But to wish Buhari to die now as Fayose is doing is to wish Nigeria bad. God forbid, if anything happens to the APC candidate now, Nigeria could be plunged into a crisis the outcome of which nobody can predict.

  • Okrika violence: Peterside promises scholarships for slain policeman’s children

    Okrika violence: Peterside promises scholarships for slain policeman’s children

    Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside has assured that the four children of 33-year-old police corporal, Ifeanyi Okorie, who was shot dead in Okrika last Tuesday, will benefit from the government’s scholarships till they complete their education.

    The children, aged six, four, three and two and their 30-year-old mother, Gift, a police corporal, would not be allowed to suffer, Peterside said.

    The APC candidate spoke at the weekend in Port Harcourt, the state capital, at the home of the Okories, behind the Kala Police Station, off Ikwerre Road, when he and other party chieftains visited the widow.

    Peterside, who was represented by his running mate, Okorie Honourable Asita, was accompanied by the state APC Chairman Davies Ibiamu Ikanya; the Director-General of Peterside’s Greater Together Campaign Organisation, Chief Victor Tombari Giadom; Commissioner for Agriculture, Emma Chindah and APC leader in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Chief Tony Okocha, among other eminent personalities.

    Ifeanyi was shot dead last Tuesday at the playground of the National School, Okrika, venue of Peterside’s rally.

    The peaceful ceremony was disrupted with explosions and gunshots by suspected thugs allegedly working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Over 50 persons were injured and several property destroyed.

    The body of the slain policeman is still at the morgue of the government-owned Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) in Port Harcourt. Arrangements are being made for his burial.

    Peterside said: “Your (Gift’s) husband laid down his life for the sake of Nigeria and democracy. We did not expect what happened in Okrika. We went to campaign but some criminals killed your husband in the presence of all of us. Even though you are mourning and crying, we owe him a debt of gratitude for the role he played in Okrika.

    “We will stand by you and your children. We will not forget you. We are all parents and we feel the weight of what happened. We feel the pressure that his death will expose you to. We know what you are going through. God will comfort you.

    “We are pleading with you to take the responsibility with courage and boldness, thereby moving forward. You need to brace yourself to the challenge. We will support you.

    “Your children will go to school and be trained properly. We are very proud of your husband.

    “APC leaders and members do not want violence. Serving the people should not be by force but through elections. Let the people freely decide the persons they want to serve them, not through violence, shooting, killing people, bombing, burning vehicles and houses.”

    Ikanya described the Okrika attack as unprovoked and condemnable.

    The APC chairman said four people were being treated at the hospital in Port Harcourt while 20 injured persons had been discharged.

    Mrs Okorie expressed gratitude to APC leaders for the visit and assistance.

    The widow described her husband as a fighter, who was always  wanted peace to reign in Rivers State and Nigeria.

    Mrs Okorie, an indigene of Cross River State, who married her late husband in 2008, said his death was painful.

    The policewoman was optimistic that God would bring peace to Rivers State and other parts of Nigeria.

    She said: “I knew him as a fighter. He always stood on the good side. He fought for peace to reign.”

    Peterside, a member of the House of Representatives, his allies and supporters narrowly escaped death at the Okrika rally.

    Okrika, the headquarters of Okrika Local Government Area, is the hometown of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience, and the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilance Movement, “General” Ateke Tom.

  • Okrika attack: ‘Abide by peace pact’

    Okrika attack: ‘Abide by peace pact’

    The Rivers State Directorate of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership to abide by the tenets of the peace accord their candidates signed.

    The NOA was reacting to the attack on APC at its Okrika rally last Tuesday.

    NOA’s State Acting Director Oliver Wolugbom cautioned politicians against making inflammatory statements.

    Wolugbom, who described the incident “as a sad reflection of the level of political intolerance in the society”, added that people should be allowed to go about their campaigns without molestation.

    The NOA director, who spoke at the weekend in Port Harcourt, the state capital, described the perpetrators of the violence as enemies of the state.

    He said politicians and their supporters should allow peace to reign before, during and after the general elections.

    Wolugbom hailed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba for setting up a panel to investigate the incident.

    The NOA director said the outcome of the investigation should be made public, adding that the culprits should be brought to justice to forestall a recurrence.

    He said the NOA, through its local government and zonal offices, had begun a series of enlightenment campaigns to educate the electorate on the need for peace and to ensure that they collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    Wolugbom noted that since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had said the PVCs guarantee eligible voters the right to vote, those without them would not vote.

    He urged INEC to ensure that eligible and registered voters get their PVCs before the elections.

  • Abdulsalami, Oyegun worried about Okrika shootings

    Abdulsalami, Oyegun worried about Okrika shootings

    The National Peace Committee headed by former Head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar has expressed concern over Tuesday’s Okrika shootings. It appealed to all stakeholders to eschew violence.

    National Chairman of the  All Progressive Congress (APC) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,  noted that electoral violence will not abate until the perpetrators are made to face the law. The duo spoke yesterday in Abuja when the committee met to review its activities following the postponement of the general elections.

    Gen. Abubakar said: “The committee like every Nigerian, is not happy with the violence and what happened in Rivers state. We are following the issue. Even if I give you a guarantee that there will be peace, I cannot dictate what you will do when you leave here. Nigerians must ensure we maintain peace.”

    He said: “There must be change, there has to be change, if we de-escalate the un-necessary political war that is going on now. The massive attack on INEC, the massive attack on the use of PVCs, the massive court actions that are going on now to have our candidate disqualified and even have the PVCs declared illegal by the court of law. In law, you can get any kind of judgment, anything before the court is 50-50.

    “If all these can de-escalate, people will start believing that this election will be relatively free and fair. In that condition, Okirika issue will be bad dream that will be behind us.

    The INEC chairman was being realistic (on election date), I am not comfortable (with INEC chairman stance on March 28), I was not comfortable with it in the first time and am still not comfortable with it, but he was being realistic.

    “The part of problem in this country is that electoral violence refuses to abate because law is not being enforced. If there is law enforcement added to our own appeal, I think we will see an abatement. But if there is selective law enforcement, because of this power of incumbency, then you can not expect it to be abated.”

  • We will still go to Okrika, says Rivers APC

    We will still go to Okrika, says Rivers APC

    Despite the attack unleashed on the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC)  and their supporters on Tuesday at Okrika, the APC has said it would still campaign in the town.

    State chairman Dr Davies Ikanya yesterday insisted that Okrika  is part of Rivers State and the party cannot be barred from going there to campaign.

    Ikanya urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to sanction the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for violating the three peace accords the political parties signed –  with INEC; the United States envoy and the police.

    He also sympathised with the victims of the attack, saying one policeman died and four were injured. Of the injured, two have been discharged.

    Ikanya said about 20 APC supporters had been discharged from hospital. Two are missing. The party, he said, is collating the figures of those affected.

    Ikanya, who accused the lawmaker representing Ogu/Bolo Constituency in the House of Assembly, Evans Bipi, of leading the people who attacked the APC rally, expressed regrets that he (Bipi) is still walking about freely. But Bipi has denied any involvement in the violence.

    He advised the Investigative Team set up by Inspector General of the Police Suleiman Abba to look into Bipi’s background.

    He did not also spare the First Lady for encouraging the mayhem. “If she cannot bring development to Rivers State, she should not bring violence to us,” Ikanya said.

  • Okrika and its Imperial Majesty

    Okrika, the headquarters of Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State is the hometown of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience, and the ex-leader of the Niger Delta Vigilance Movement, “General” Ateke Tom.

    Prior to the October 26, 2007 inauguration of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as the governor of the state, Okrika was a hotbed of militancy and a no-go area.

    The youthful ex-Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly (Amaechi), shortly after his inauguration as governor, declared that his administration would have nothing to do with militants and he declared total war on them.

    Ateke’s “highly-fortified” camp in Okrika was invaded by security operatives, with the then dreaded abode destroyed and the warlords scampering to safety, in the face of superior firepower and more sophisticated equipment/weapons.

    The late President Umaru Yar’Adua, in 2009, gave amnesty to the repentant Niger Delta militants, which complemented the efforts of the Amaechi’s administration.

    Okrika is back in the news. And for the wrong reason.

    On January 11, the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat in Okrika was bombed. Then on January 22, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Nyesom Wike campaigned at the playground of the National School, Okrika. It was attended by Dame Jonathan and transmitted live on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

    Ateke, at Wike’s rally in Okrika, boasted that the ancient town belongs to the PDP and that APC’s campaign would never be allowed in Okrika.

    The 44-year-old Rivers governorship candidate of the APC, members of his Greater Together Campaign Organisation and his supporters were billed to campaign at the playground of the same National School in Okrika from 10 a.m. on January 24, but the place was bombed.  while some of them were injured and their valuable property lost to the bombing, burning, shooting and attacks with machetes and other dangerous weapons from 3:45 a.m.

    The Okrika rally was later suspended by Peterside and members of his team, in order not to expose the APC’s members to danger, but indicated that they would never be cowed or intimidated.

    It is believed that the directive not to allow APC’s rallies to hold in Okrika and in Ogu, the headquarters of neighbouring Ogu-Bolo LGA (of the same Okrika-Ijaw stock) was given by Dame Jonathan, for the whole world not to confirm that Peterside  has supporters in her hometown.

    Ogu is the hometown of the self-acclaimed Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Evans Bipi, a former aide to the wife of President Jonathan, and the representative of the Rivers East Senatorial District, George Thompson Sekibo.

    Peterside’s Okrika rally was rescheduled for February 12, but the Chairman of the Greater Together Campaign Organisation in Okrika LGA, Tamuno Williams, a lawyer and ex-Chairman of the council, at a news conference in Port Harcourt on February 11, expressed shock on the refusal of the Rivers police, led by Dan Bature, to provide security for the campaign.

    Williams said: “The wife of the President, Mrs. Jonathan, decreed that the APC  must not  be  allowed  to  hold  its  rallies  in  the two Okrika  speaking  LGAs of Okrika and Ogu/Bolo. Despite several entreaties to Her Majestic Excellency (Dame Jonathan) to allow the APC hold mere campaign rallies, she insisted that the rallies must not hold on ‘her turf.’ To further guarantee that her orders were not to be thwarted, Mrs. Jonathan arrived Port Harcourt on February 11, with plans to visit Okrika on February 12.”

    The Okrika rally was again suspended. The Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad (DSP), however, stated that at no time did the command tell anybody that it would not guarantee security of a rally anywhere in the state, claiming that the Rivers police command, along with other security agencies, was assessing situations in Okrika, with a view of reassuring the APC’s members of the required adequate security.

    President Goodluck Jonathan and the security agencies should take urgent steps to put an end to the escalating violence in Rivers and allow peaceful APC’s rallies in Okrika and Ogu/Bolo LGAs.