The All Progressives Congress (APC) is daring Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike to make good his threat to demolish hotels and entertainment centres he alleges are being used to recruit thugs to disrupt the forthcoming 2023 elections.
Wike had said, in a statewide broadcast, that his government has received intelligence reports that politicians in the state have allegedly started recruiting cultists and ex-convicts to be used as political thugs before and during next year’s general elections.
He added that the reports also indicated that meetings for such recruitment are being held in hotels and other entertainment centres around the state, and threatened to pull them down.
But the APC is suggesting that the state chief executive is targeting property of its members and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that have abandoned him; but has warned him to desist from the plan to demolish.
Wike warned that his administration will not allow any politician, despite his past or present status or political leaning, to upset the relative peace which the security agencies have struggled to maintain in Rivers State.
Governor Wike, however, warned of more drastic action against accomplices of the criminal plot, saying his administration will “pull down any hotel or entertainment centres where such gatherings are held”.
The Rivers State Governor also revealed that the security agencies have been alerted to be on the trail of those politicians suspected of recruiting the thugs.
He called for more vigilance among the residents while thanking them for their support since assuming office in 2015.
The Rivers State APC Spokesman, Senibo Chris Finebone, in a statement said, “This is not the first time the governor has resorted to crude and primitive methods to intimidate and subdue his political opponents if his threat to demolish hotels and leisure places where politicians hold their meetings is anything to go by, having done so during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The APC is not surprised at the threat by Gov. Wike. His house (PDP) is crumbling fast right in his face. For obvious reasons, his main men of yesterday have turned political foes today. His entourage has seen faces change over and over again of late. We know his threat is essentially directed at his henchmen who have taken their destinies in their own hands and rebelling against the local potentate. Across the State these men have pitched their tent with Wike’s tormentor-in-chief, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“The APC in Rivers State has news for Gov. Wike. He is not in any position to demolish the hotel, leisure places or any property of any APC member in Rivers State under any guise whatsoever. This message should sink in adequately. It is absolutely the choice of his party members to let him repeat his jungle justice on them as the world witnessed during the last pandemic high noon. The anarchy Wike will bring upon himself should he attempt it against any APC member will assume the dimension of an apocalypse of immense proportions. We hope the governor takes this warning seriously.”
The APC’s statement reads in full: “ “As Wike presses on with courting the APC to secure protection after the 2023 general elections, a close ally of the APC Presidential Candidate, Gov Sanwo-Olu of Lagos and other APC stalwarts will be in Rivers State this week to either commission projects undertaken by Gov. Wike or flag off others.
“However, it did not take long for any discerning mind to know that the 19-paragraph broadcast by Gov. Wike is only a knee jerk reaction by the governor to fight back his fear for his own shadow. This is not the first time the governor has resorted to crude and primitive methods to intimidate and subdue his political opponents if his threat to demolish hotels and leisure places where politicians hold their meetings is anything to go by, having done so during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The APC is not surprised at the threat by Gov. Wike. His house (PDP) is crumbling fast right in his face. For obvious reasons, his main men of yesterday have turned political foes today. His entourage has seen faces change over and over again of late. We know his threat is essentially directed at his henchmen who have taken their destinies in their own hands and rebelling against the local potentate. Across the State these men have pitched their tent with Wike’s tormentor-in-chief, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
“The APC in Rivers State has news for Gov. Wike. He is not in any position to demolish the hotel, leisure places or any property of any APC member in Rivers State under any guise whatsoever. This message should sink in adequately. It is absolutely the choice of his party members to let him repeat his jungle justice on them as the world witnessed during the last pandemic high noon. The anarchy Wike will bring upon himself should he attempt it against any APC member will assume the dimension of an apocalypse of immense proportions. We hope the governor takes this warning seriously
“We want the governor to realize that his time is fast winding up. He should accept this fact and not exacerbate his fate as power and immunity depart from him in a matter of months.”
