The
leaked audio recording showing the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike
admitting to bribing some electoral officials and threatening to kill them if
his instructions were not followed has confirmed the fears raised by the All
Progressives Congress (APC) in the leadup to the recently conducted December
10, 2016 legislative re-run elections in the State.
Going by
the revelations from the leaked audio recordings, it is obvious that Governor
Wike may have engaged in unwholesome conducts that might have compromised the
integrity of the electoral process and undermined his office as the Chief Security
Officer of a state. The only logical conclusion from this therefore is that the
electoral victories of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have been
achieved through underhand dealings and intimidation of officials.
Recall
that on December 6, 2016, the APC alerted security agencies on
reports of a massive arms build-up and other sinister plots that Wike and the
PDP planned to execute on the day of the legislative rerun elections in Rivers
State.
Nigerians
have watched with grave concern how the process of the just concluded
legislative rerun election has led to the death of ordinary citizens in the
state including security officers. The statement that Governor Wike appeared to
have made on record has now pointed directly at where responsibility should be
placed for the violence that attended the election.
It is also evident that the allegations by the
Rivers State government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of an
assassination threat on Wike and the allegation by Wike that APC Governors
funded violence in the state during the election might have been deliberately
contrived to cover-up the role that the Governor had played in the violence
that attended the election.
The APC condemns any form of violence as it
relates to elections or any other matter. In this instance, we urge security
agencies to do the needful and ensure that sponsors and perpetrators of
violence, no matter how highly placed, are brought to justice.
SIGNED:
Mallam
Bolaji Abdullahi
National
Publicity Secretary
All Progressives
Congress
Tags
Politics