National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has condemned the attack on its members in Rivers State.
The party, in a statement on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the attacks on its members are being sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It was reported that Tonye Cole, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was attacked by Peoples Democratic Party protesters while trying to honour an appointment with INEC officials on Monday.
Mr Cole was at the INEC office to obtain documents to lodge a petition against INEC’s declaration of Siminialayi Fubara as the winner of the 18 March governorship election in the state.
Mr Fubara, who was a candidate of the PDP, scored 302,614 votes, while Mr Cole came second with 95,274 votes, according to INEC.
The APC also accused the police of not taking action to investigate the attacks on its members in the state.
Furthermore, the party said the thugs are trying to prevent Mr Cole from getting vital documents that will aid the governorship election petition.
Read the full statement by the APC
The statement reads:
The All Progressives Congress (APC) condemns, in the strongest terms, the attack on some of its leaders and members in Port Harcourt on Monday, April 3, 2023, by thugs and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This barbaric and unprovoked attack occurred during a visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s office by Mr Tonye Cole, APC Governorship Candidate, Dr. Innocent Barikor, Deputy Governorship Candidate, Mr Emeka Beke, State Chairman of the Party and 3 other party officials to obtain the Certified True Copies (CTC) of vital documents in the March 18 Governorship and House of Assembly elections. Without warning, thugs and supporters of the PDP descended on our Party officials, inflicting severe and life-threatening injuries on them, and damaging personal and party properties.
This premeditated attack by PDP thugs and operatives on our officials and members in Port Harcourt is yet another in what has now become an orgy of violence carried out with mind-boggling audacity, and with absolutely no serious investigation by the police or repercussions for the instigators and perpetrators of this serial violence.
Ostensibly, this latest attack was aimed at frustrating the effort of our Governorship Candidate to obtain vital documents to exercise his constitutional right to challenge the declared result of the Governorship election in the state. For the PDP that claims to have won the election to resort to this level of violence to block a legitimate legal challenge tells a different story of a party sitting precariously on needles and pins in the face of prospects of a legal challenge by our Governorship Candidate.
While we commend the swift response of security agencies, especially the Police and the Nigerian Army in restoring peace and order in the wake of this brutal attack, again, we call on the Inspector General of Police to order an urgent and thorough investigation into this and previous incidents of violent attacks on leaders and members of our Party in Rivers State, and to bring the sponsors and perpetrators to justice.
