Irked by incessant allegations that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, is the mastermind behind recent attacks on close associates of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abukakar, the Rivers PDP Governorship Campaign Council, has put things in perspective.
Chief Ogbonna Nwuke, Spokesman, for the Consolidation of Rivers Vision (PDP) Campaign Council, said “Wike has been busy, to the glory of God, commissioning and flagging off new projects in parts of the State, Rivers people are being fed with unbridled falsehood.”
Nwuke said: “We have invited you as a party to share thoughts with you on a number of developments associated with the unethical behavior of certain political renegades who are manning the Atiku campaign in Rivers State.
“While Governor Nyesom Wike has been busy, to the glory of God, commissioning and flagging off new projects in parts of the State, Rivers people are being fed with unbridled falsehood.
“We refer specifically to illogical and ill-conceived claims made by the Spokesman of the Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State.
“He has claimed in chats with the media that there are plans by the Rivers PDP to dress up some persons in branded T-shirts bearing the face of the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in order to destroy or deface billboards and posters.
“We have similarly learnt through the media of a move by the PDP to recruit 20 political thugs in each of
the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State who would be used to intimidate innocent and defenseless citizens.
“Gentlemen, we would not have wasted energy in responding to these allegations that are as worthless as the paper on which they are written. The reason is that they are products of poor workmen who are usually in the habit of quarelling with their tools.
“Despite claims that supporters of the PDP in the State that are loyal supporters of Governor Wike are pulling down or defacing billboards, billboards carrying the faces of candidates of other political parties, including those that are aspiring for the presidency, are standing elegantly along major roads and streets.
“Nobody in the PDP loyal to the leadership of Governor Wike has removed them. The media is at liberty to confirm our assertion. The media is also at liberty to confirm whose posters are being torn by agents of the Atiku campaign organization.
“Our position is that agents of the presidential candidate have resorted to underhand practices in an attempt
to stir distrust and unrest in Rivers State.
“We have stumbled upon a plan by the pro-Atiku group led by a War Canoe Chief, supported by some rogue politicians who believe in divide and rule tactics, to use murderers, assassins and ex-prisoners to inflict bodily harm on innocent and defenseless Rivers people.
“The idea, we have learnt, is to destabilize a peaceful State, create fear and unrest and cause public disaffection through the generation of bare-faced terror and mind-boggling viomence.
“More importantly, the idea is to cover up their evil plan to attack the State, stimulate tension and attempt to halt the ongoing and commendable bid by Governor Nyesom Wike to deliver more facilities to the good people of Rivers State in accordance with his electoral promises.
“As part of the plan, they are already running on the theory of the big lie by fabricating all kind of tales, so they can later claim they told us so. In their desperation, they have even claimed that we are assembling thugs.
“Atiku’s Spokesman, by his utterances demonstrates quite a lot of limited knowledge and crass ignorance. His utterances do not show that he understands the intentment of the Electoral Act and the content therein.
“Votes will count in this election. The people will decide who rules them.
Election results shall be transmitted electronically. INEC has introduced BVAS, meaning that only those who are qualified to vote will take part in the forthcoming elections.
“The hijack of polling boxes have become obselete. No one can write results. That practice has become archaic. So, what will thugs do?
“Besides, the Wike administration has surpassed all expectations in terms of project delivery. The Rivers people know this, the Nigerian people appreciate this fact and the Federal Government has acknowledged this reality.
“Ex-agitators in the Niger Delta who have pitched camps with some candidates as we prepare for election are doing their best to campaign reasonably and peacefully. They are refusing to be dragged into the fray by blood thirsty politicians who are Incidentally working for Atiku.
“Armed with the kind of scorecard that Governor Wike has put on the table, the goodwill that the PDP in Rivers State is enjoying, what do we need thugs for?
“Let us even for one second consider statistical data. Atiku’s Spokesman in Rivers State is claiming that the Rivers PDP of which he id part is recruiting 20 thugs per LGA. Some ‘LGAs like Khana and Etche have at 19 wards.
“Is Atiku’s Spokesman saying that every ward will have an average of one thug each? If this is correct, what impact will one or two thugs have in a ward comprised of so many Electoral Units?
“This shows how hollow and how shallow these claims are. This exposes the lie that Atiku’s uncouth spokesman is telling the world.
“Those who are spinning these lies however forget that the wildcat allegations which are being deployed cannot, and will not earn sane votes for the presidential flag-bearer of the PDP.
“They should go about selling the candidature of the PDP Presidential Candidate instead of contemplating violence. They should tell the Rivers people who have eyes, who have ears and know what is happening, why they should vote for Atiku.
“No amount of viled threat will deter us from going ahead with our mission as the party of Rivers people.
“Our mission is to keep Rivers people safe, build sustainable infrastructure which will drive the Rivers economy, and grow commerce and industry by establishing a robust partnership with the organized private sector.
“Our vision is to provide health facilities, deepen the State’s quest for formal education, use the extension of university campuses to the grassroots as a vehicle for cultivating university communities, and growing rural economies.
“More than that, the new roads within and outside the State capital that have been conceived under the New Rivers Vision, the flyovers which adorn our major city, are all part of a deliberate plan to create increased and unrestricted access, encourage the flow of goods and services and the speedy evacuation of agricultural produce.
“Taking these attainments to higher levels is the task before Sir Siminalayi Fubara. We are glad that in Sim we have a competent administrator, an experienced technocrat, and a man with a heart of gold who understands the civil service and his fellow Rivers people.
“The future of our State belongs to those who love and respect her, who have a will to carry along everyone, and who are determined to provide development projects for the upliftment of our people and their communities.
“We urge the Rivers people to stand with Sir Sim Fubara and the PDP. Sim shall fulfill his part of the social contract and consolidate on the achievements recorded through the new Rivers Vision innunciated by Governor Nyesom Wike.
“On Sunday, the PDP led by the Governor who is the Chairman of the Campaign Council will dedicate the campaign effort of our great party to God. Thereafter, we shall hit the trail where the people are waiting to embrace their own party.
“Finally, we want to thank you, Gentlemen of the Press, for your time. We are now open to those questions that make the press what it is.”
