Olusegun Olanrewaju
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, says it is an act of anti-party on the part of the national leadership of the People Democratic Party (PDP) to tell lawyers handling legal suits on behalf of the PDP in the state to dissociate themselves from the cases.
A statement by the Special Assistant (Media) to the governor, Kelvin Ebiri, said the Rivers State chapter of PDP has taken some political parties in the state to court over non-compliance to the regulations and laws of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of their various primaries.
Wike accused the national leadership of the party when he spoke at State School Premises, Okehi 1, the venue of the Rivers State PDP campaign flag-off rally in Etche Local Government Area yesterday.
He said instead of the PDP national leadership supporting the suits by the PDP in Rivers State, it has asked lawyers handling the various legal matters to withdraw legal representations.
The Rivers State governor stated that anti-party begets anti-party and since the PDP national has started the anti-party game, it will get an anti-party in return.
“We have caught them. They are the ones engaged in anti-party politics. I told them anti-party begets anti-party. You know we carried these small parties (APC, SDP) to court for failing to do what the law says.
“The people in Abuja that say they are national have gone to collude with them (opposition parties) to write our lawyers a letter that they should take their hands off, to kill the cases we filed. I have told our lawyers to withdraw from the matter. I will hit them back by tomorrow.
“Nobody hurts us without sustaining a scar. Anybody who dares to touch us in Rivers State, I will inflict many scars on him, and we have started it. We are voting for our people here. Now, you have told us you are anti-party. We will show you what anti-party is. Already, we have caught them red-handed.”
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The governor also emphasised that the forthcoming election is a battle that must be won, and urged the Etche people to go home, get prepared by collecting the remainder of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) with INEC, and vote for all PDP candidates in the state.
He described the PDP in Rivers as a formidable squad, fully prepared for the election, with all it takes to ensure that the election is peaceful, with winning votes secured for all its candidates.
Speaking further, Wike thanked Etche people for their massive turnout at the rally, which he said, demonstrates that they are fully in support of the PDP in Rivers State.
He pointed out that by all ramifications, the PDP-controlled state government has kept every promise made to them since 2015.
These are in the delivery of over eight critical road infrastructures, the establishment of a campus of Rivers State University in the area, and the appointment of their son as the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education.
The governor urged them to vote for Siminialayi Fubara as his successor to consolidate the gains of his administration.
In his speech, Rivers State governorship candidate of the PDP, Fubara, solicited bulk votes from Etche people to enable him and the entire consolidation team to win.
He explained that when elected, his administration would ensure that the closure of courts in the state was never experienced again.
Fubara also assured that there shall be sustained regular payment of workers and assets owned by the State are never sold to cronies of those in power.
