Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has explained that his government stopped the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from using the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt for his campaign in order to safeguard the facility from vandalism.
The governor, who spoke at the state PDP campaign in Degema, Degema Local Government Area on Thursday, described the claim that the state government did not want PDP Presidential Campaign Council to campaign in the state as erroneous, as he recalled that his administration earlier gave approval to the party to use the stadium at no cost.
He said: “Don’t say we stopped them from holding their rally; we didn’t. They applied to me and I gave (Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium) to them. They now went back and began to meet with the faction of the opposition, and you know that the opposition has never held any rally without violence.
“And I said I cannot joke with Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium. Since we have this intelligence we will not allow it. Did anybody force us to give them before? Are we not the ones who gave them? Did they pay money? Go and see the place. I know they are happy because they know there is no way they can fill that stadium. Instead of them to say thank God for covering our shame”.
Following the withdrawal of the initial approval by the state government for the use of the stadium, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council made moves to use the University of Port Harcourt.
But, the university on Thursday denied a report that the PDP presidential campaign had been shifted to its campus. The university described the report as false.
In a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Dr Sam Kpenu, the institution said that it was not a campaign ground. The statement reads: “Management has not authorized any political campaign rally at the university. The university is not a political ground for political campaigns
“We are not contemplating releasing its facility to the Atiku Campaign Council. The public is, therefore, called upon to discountenance this deliberate falsehood aimed at tarnishing the towering reputation of the university, as it is simply a figment of the imagination of the author.
“The institution warns the originator of this falsehood to desist forthwith or face the wrath of the law. Meanwhile, this issue has been reported to law enforcement agencies for appropriate action”.
In its reaction, the Rivers PDP Campaign Council said the PDP presidential candidate has proved in his words and deeds to be an unrepentant enemy of Rivers and Nigeria.
The party hailed Wike’s decision to deny the PDP Presidential Campaign Council the use of the Port Harcourt stadium for Atiku’s rally, which is scheduled to hold next week Saturday (11 February).
In a statement on Thursday by its Director of Publicity and Communications, Ogbonna Nwuke, campaign council said that the Rivers people would not collude with persons, who did not share their aspiration for a stable and better society.
Nwuke’s words: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is proving by the day, through words and deeds, to be an unrepentant enemy, not just of ordinary Nigerians, but also of the Rivers people. At a time when Rivers people of all walks of life are struggling with great difficulty to obtain scarce funds from banks to buy food for their families to eat, when the CBN is responding to the cries of ordinary Nigerians and the National Assembly over its currency swap policy, Atiku whose only interest is to be a Nigerian President is urging the apex bank not to bend to the will of the people.
“How mean and out of tune can this man who wants power at all costs be? His latest call on the CBN not to listen to public opinion proves beyond reasonable doubt that all that Atiku has, all that he feels for the Nigerian people is contempt.
“Most vehicle owners in this State and others across Nigeria are parking their motor cars because they do not have money to access petroleum products. They are victims of an evil cabal that does not trust in the well-being of the nation and its people.
“Nigerians are not puns on a chessboard. They are humans who feel pain, people who have aspirations of their own and rights that must be protected by the Nigerian state”.
Nwuke said they were shocked that in obtaining permission to use the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, those who ought to appreciate the kind gesture of the governor were conniving with a violent faction of the APC.
Meanwhile, Wike has been accused of supporting the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the forthcoming election.
In a letter dated 1 February, Atiku’s camp said the governor had already directed all local government chairmen, his aides, and party executive members to deliver Tinubu at the poll. The letter, addressed to Wike and signed by the Director of State Campaign Management Committee, Rivers State chapter, Dr Abiye Sekibo, was in reaction to the reason given by the governor for canceling an approval he gave to the council to use the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium for Atiku’s campaign.
Sekibo accused Wike of trying to frustrate and stop the PDP candidate from emerging as the next president of Nigeria.
He also said Wike’s involvement in the activities of the G-5 was the height of anti-party and wondered why the governor would in turn accuse them of working with a faction of the APC in the state.
Sekibo denied the claim by the governor that the council was working in collaboration with a faction of the APC led by Tonye Patrick Cole to share the approved facility with the APC.
Addressing the governor, Sekibo said: “We completely sent your assertion as patently false and perverse and we believe that our highly respected security agencies cannot furnish you with such untrue and unfounded lies”.
