Rivers rerun: It’s force for force, Amaechi, Oyegun tell APC supporters
The Minister of Transportation and a two-term former governor of Rivers state, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has charged supporters of the All Progressives Congress in the state to be courageous and return fire for fire in the Saturday December 10, legislative rerun election in the state.
He gave the charge to the party supporters at the APC Mega Rally in Port Harcourt, capital city of Rivers state, to round off the party’s campaigns, saying that the rerun election “is the election of our lives. He said that gone were the days when APC supporters took to their heels in the face of alleged attacks and electoral violence by the PDP.
The former governor stated: “I have not spoken to you people like this before. Don’t kill anybody so that you can still take Holy Communion, but also make sure you are not killed. If they snatch a result sheet, snatch it back.”
He recalled: “My friend in the army told me that if you hear the sound of a gunshot, it is not meant for you. Let them know that they are not the only ones that have right to their lives. We all have a right to our lives. If you allow them to shoot you, you will die. It’s not only them that have rights to life. So, this election is the election of our lives. The federal government has provided enough security, so come out and vote for APC candidates.”
Also speaking at the rally was the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who declared that the party, controlled by the Federal Government, was on a well-programmed mission to rescue Rivers State from the “clutches of the PDP”.
Chief Oyegun, a former governor of Edo State, stated: “The December 10, legislative re-run symbolises our mission to rescue the people of Rivers State from an oppressive regime. The entire national leadership of the party is here. President Mohammadu Buhari is with the people of Rivers State. We have heard your cry; we feel your pain; we are pained by your anguish. Enough is enough. All we ask of you is to come out on Saturday, December 10, and vote for all APC candidates”.
He stressed: “The APC federal government is poised on rescuing Rivers State. And Rivers State will be rescued. I am happy with what I have heard you say, today. If they push you, push them. If they slap you, slap them. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. The federal government has provided enough security to ensure a peaceful election”.
Speaking also at the rally, Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, assured APC supporters that no aggrieved candidate would approach the tribunal after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have announced the final results, stating that the “APC has come back to its winning ways. We did it in Kogi State. We did it in Edo State. We did it in Ondo State. We will do it, too, in Rivers State. Just come to vote massively for APC so that we can take back Rivers State from electoral robbers.”
Also the governor of Kano state, Alhaji Mohammed Ganduje, the Chairman of the Rivers Rerun Election Planning Committee, encouraged the voters not run away any more but to fire back at anybody who attacked them.
The rally was attended by other APC leaders who included Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; former Akwa Ibom Governor, Don Etiebet; Ondo State Governor-elect, Rotimi Akeredolu, and Senator Jibrin Barau.
Meanwhile the PDP in the state has warned against sabotaging Saturday’s State and National Assembly rescheduled rerun elections in parts the state. The party said, in press statement from the office of its Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, that the warning was necessitated by its firm believe that the APC, INEC, and security operatives in the state were planning to rig the election.
The PDP in the statement signed by the Chairman’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, alleged that the agreement to rig the election was sealed in a secret meeting between the State leadership of the APC, security agents, and the electoral body at the residence of one of the APC’s chieftains in Port Harcourt.
The statement further alleged: “Certain persons hired and equipped for the assignment will cause crisis in each of the collation centres to enable the security agents come in under the pretext to calm the situation and while the melee lasts, the fake INEC result sheets will be substituted for the genuine ones.”
The State PDP chairman, then, warned that any attempt by the APC, INEC officials, and security personnel to scuttle this last opportunity to settle these election issues in the State by taking sides in the election and, or indulging in any act(s) that will cause crisis in the State.
“Let me restate that we are ready for this election having campaigned adequately, demonstrated that we have all it takes to give our people quality leadership through Governor Nyesom Wike’s landmark achievements in one and half years which our good people of Rivers State have seen and acknowledged and are willing to reciprocate by filing out in their numbers on Saturday to confirm. We will not, therefore, take it kindly with any act, overtly or covertly aimed to ridicule the Saturday’s exercise,” the Chairman warned.
