The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the mindless blackmail of its candidate in the Rivers South-East rerun, Senator Magnus Abe, and the party, on the military operation in Yeghe-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government.
It wondered why the government and its agents could take their propaganda to such ridiculous level.
APC insisted that the violence in Ogoni followed the remarks by Governor Nyesom Wike at the 50th birthday of Senator Lee Maeba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Khana, where he declared that the re-election of Senator Abe must be stopped at all cost.
Rivers APC, last week, in Port Harcourt, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, noted that in line with the position of the party to be cautious and circumspect about security matters, it restrained itself from commenting on the security operations by the Army and other security agencies.
It, however, said given the unsavoury statements by some opportunistic individuals before and after the violence in Khana and Gokana, especially the barrage of propaganda and blackmail, ostensibly sponsored by the government against Senator Abe and other APC leaders, it became imperative to correct the destructive narratives bandied to deceive the Ogoni and other Nigerians.
APC said: “Fired by the governor’s war cry, a group of cultists and hoodlums on the payroll of the PDP, descended on Senator Magnus Abe’s campaign liaison building in Bori (headquarters of Khana LGA) and razed it. Despite the huge loss, Senator Abe pleaded with his supporters to remain calm and not to seek revenge.
“The Rivers State Security Council, headed by Governor Wike, authorised and was aware of the security operations in Ogoni to sanitise the area of criminals, but the government has resorted to sponsoring groups and individuals to blackmail Senator Abe as the person responsible for the presence of the military in Ogoni land. The government is also blackmailing the military by activating their stooges to condemn the military.
“The APC condemns this sort of dishonest and despicable behaviour.
“Worse still, it appears that top officials of the government might have compromised the privileged information about the security operations by the Army, resulting in the escape of key suspects with PDP links and exposing the military personnel to danger, as they were reportedly ambushed by well-armed militants.”
