APC, PDP biker over Omoku killings

…Wike has no right to continue as Gov – APC
…Opposition plots to frame our chairman, says PDP
The Rivers State branch of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has declared that the Governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, had no business remaining as the Governor following his alleged inability to uphold his oath of office to protect the lives and property of Nigerians and foreigners residing in Rivers State.

The party in a press statement circulated in Port Harcourt, capital City of Rivers State on Thursday, claimed that with the alleged failure of the governor to protect the lives of 17 persons who were massacred by unknown gunmen after a cross over church service in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema local government of Rivers state, on New Year Day, it was expected that the governor would honourably resign.

The statement which was signed by Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Senior Special Assistant to the APC Chairman in the state, said that the Rivers State House of Assembly would have saved the state from the embarrassment by summarily impeaching the governor.

The statement which emanated from office of the state APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, further described as “heinous, evil, satanic, and unacceptable the New Year Day massacre of over 21 sons and daughters of Rivers State at Omoku who had gone to church to worship and thank God for sparing their lives in the year 2017, only for them to be killed in a gruesome manner.

The APC, quoting a late African leader said: “Drawing inspiration from late Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia truism, ‘Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph.’ The leadership of APC will not be deterred to speak up.”

The party also accused the governor of mismanaging security vote worth over N2billion monthly saying, “In this regard, we wish to state unambiguously that the continued killing and decimation of hundreds of Rivers State people since Chief Nyesom Wike assumed office as the Governor of Rivers State on 29th May, 2015 and his inability to curtail the carnage is not only callous, condemnable, wicked, but unacceptable.”

In the meantime, the Rivers state Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said it had uncovered plot by the APC to frame up the party Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, in the killings on January 1, in Omoku. The party claimed that the Chairman, too, lost his relatives in the mayhem.

The plot, according to a statement by the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, signed by the Chairman’s aide, Mr. Jerry Needam, claimed that the plot was revealed through a source in a meeting of some leaders of the main opposition political party held on Wednesday January 3, 2018, between the hours of 8pm-11pm in Port Harcourt.

“The source also revealed that they are allegedly pressurising security agencies to frame up the State PDP chairman, Bro’ Obuah as the sponsor of the violence that led to the death of over 10 persons on January 1, 2018, including 6 relatives of Rivers PDP chairman. They are allegedly doing everything to frame up the PDP chairman ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“According to information available to the PDP, part of their plans is to arrest some youths of Omoku and take them to Abuja and force them to frame up Bro. Felix Obuah as sponsor of violence in Omoku.

Part of the evil plot is the shameful, provocative, misleading, malicious and childish appearance on a live radio programme in Port Harcourt, the State capital, in the morning hours of Thursday January 4, 2018 by one of the APC leaders,” the statement alleged.

The PDP stated that Chief Felix Obauh has always spoken out loudly and forcefully against all forms of violence which had led to his being singled out last year for praise by traditional rulers, opinion moulders, and religious leaders in the state, adding that he coordinated stakeholders in Omoku to intervene and help the area achieve peace.

We must remain united against violence – Saraki
President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has condemned the recent killings in Benue, Rivers and Kaduna States that left countless Nigerians dead, describing the attack on the affected communities as ‘heinous’ and ‘reprehensible’, and called on all Nigerians to remain united in their condemnation of violence.

He said: “The recent killings in this new year that have left many families without their loved ones, and several communities in distress were a reprehensible act of violence.

As Nigerians, we must all remain united in our condemnation of violence. Such actions have no place anywhere in our culture. The killers and perpetrators of this callous act must be caught and brought to justice. The Senate will continue to render all necessary support to ensure that this happens.

“I call on our security forces to continue to work around the clock to ensure the safety of the affected communities — and all communities across the nation. Such random and widespread acts of hate and disorder are part of the reasons why last year, we inaugurated an Ad-Hoc Committee to Review Nigeria’s Security Infrastructure for better delivery across the board.

“The committee is still at work, however, now it is clear that we need to review, re-vamp and reposition our security apparatus across the nation to be able to respond to the diverse nature of the crises and concerns of various communities. I still believe that the intelligence gathering aspects of our security system is not measuring up to standard.

“We need to ensure that our security system could gather relevant intelligence and analyse them to prevent activities of hoodlums and insurgents so that we don’t always cry after the milk is spilt.

These killings, like those that occurred in Benue, Rivers and Kaduna are becoming too recurrent and the relevant Senate committees will hold discussion with the Senators from the affected states with a view to having a proper understanding of what the issues are and make appropriate recommendations to the executive,” he stated.

The Senate President further commiserated with the families who lost their loved ones as well as the government and entire people of Benue, Kaduna and Rivers States on the sad incident.

Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt