Wike, Rivers APC in fresh crossfire

governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said the violence that marred the legislative rerun elections in the state was allegedly orchestrated by security agencies with a motive to making the state ungovernable.

This was as he alleged that the Police High Command had arrested all his personal police detail, who accompanied him to stop a top brass from rigging the election in Rivers East Senatorial District, adding that all his security aides have been detained in Abuja.

According to a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu, the governor made the claims while addressing members of the Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council, who paid him a Christmas visit, on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Davies Ikanya, has described the refusal of the governor to honour the police panel set up to investigate the violence that marred the elections in the state as a bad omen.

Ikanya made the allegation in a separate statement by his media aide, Chief Chukwu Eze, and also condemned the decision by the governor to set up a parallel commission of inquiry to look into the same issue.

Governor Wike, however, explained that he was compelled to take action to stop the security agencies because policemen and soldiers were allegedly used by APC at Ikwerre Local Government Area to beat up Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agents and forced collation officers to concoct results.

“The security agencies orchestrated plans to cause violence with a view to making the state ungovernable for ulterior motives. As I speak with you, all my personal police detail, who accompanied me to stop an officer from successfully rigging the Rivers East Senatorial District election have been arrested and detained  in Abuja,” he said.

He pointed out that the state had been peaceful since the conclusion of the elections, adding, “Look at how peaceful Rivers State has become after the elections. Why was the election violent? It is because they wanted particular candidates to win and they wanted to rig in favour of such candidates.

“I was called to share seats. I said I will not participate in such a fraud. I insisted that the votes must count: let everyone go for elections.”

The governor also noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and police had swept the matter of fake ballot papers allegedly used during the election under the carpet, adding however that many INEC staff said to be victims of violence by security agencies were under pressure from the electoral commission to deny the physical assault on them.

However, the Rivers APC chairman insisted that Wike allegedly sponsored violent attacks on government agencies, adding that his refusal to honour the police panel was  “a direct affront to federal powers and should be swiftly met with appropriate response by those whose authority he is challenging so as not to embolden others to follow his dangerous example”.

He expressed dismay that Wike had the effrontery to set up a parallel commission of enquiry on the elections.

“By so doing, Wike has clearly crossed the line and should be put in his proper place by the Federal Government whose powers he is brazenly challenging,”  Ikanya added.

He also alleged that Wike’s sole purpose in setting up the commission was to ridicule APC leaders and make nonsense of the efforts by the police to probe and stop further killings in Rivers State