The Rivers State
Government has sent a letter to the Peoples Republic of China, asking for
diplomatic intervention over the re-run legislative election scheduled for this
weekend.
In
a letter signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication,
Austin Tam-George, and obtained by DAILY POST, the Rivers State government said
it was not unaware of the plan by the ruling All Progressives Congress to rig
the election.
Tam-George
in a plethora of accusations against the national Chairman of the APC, Chief
John Odigie-Oyegun, the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and other leaders
of the party, wants the Chinese government to be observatory about the
activities of the APC.
The
letter bellow:
RIVERS
STATE GOVERNMENT NOTIFIES DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS OF THREAT TO NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY
GOVERNMENT OF
RIVERS
STATE OF NIGERIA:
Office of the Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Information and Communication
Office of the Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Information and Communication
14th
March 2016
The
President of the Peoples Republic of China Thro:
The Ambassador,
Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China
Plot 302/303, Central Business Area,
Abuja,
The Ambassador,
Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China
Plot 302/303, Central Business Area,
Abuja,
Your
Excellency,
Grave
Threat to Peace and Stability in Rivers State, Nigeria
I
write on behalf of the Government and people of Rivers State, Nigeria, to
inform you respectfully of the imminent danger posed to the peace and stability
of Rivers State, by the actions and provocative utterances of the leaders of
the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In
the run-up to the re-run legislative polls billed for the 19th of March 2016 in
Rivers State, leaders of the APC, notably, Mr Dakuku Peterside, Mr Rotimi
Amaechi, and others, have resorted to intimidatory
tactics and are openly inciting violence against members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and anyone who holds a different political perspective in
the state.
tactics and are openly inciting violence against members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and anyone who holds a different political perspective in
the state.
In
the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s judgment recently affirming Governor
Nyesom Wike as the duly elected governor of Rivers State, among other PDP
victories, the APC has ratcheted up its dangerous rhetoric.
In
a widely publicized media interview, Chief John Oyegun the National Chairman of
the APC has castigated the integrity of the Justices of the Supreme Court,
declaring, “Something is fundamentally wrong in the judiciary”.
Oyegun
also made the bizarre suggestion that all oil-producing states of the Niger
Delta region were prized assets to be acquired at all costs by the APC.
“We
have lost very important resource-rich states to the PDP. No matter how crude
oil prices have fallen, it is still the most important revenue earner for the
country”, Chief Oyegun said.
country”, Chief Oyegun said.
In
Chief Oyegun’s company was Mr Dakuku Peterside, the defeated Rivers State APC
governorship candidate, who seemed to use the meeting to incite the military
and the FederalGovernment against the people of Rivers State.
Among
the demands of Dakuku Peterside and the Rivers State APC was the purge of
alleged sympathizers “of the immediate-past federal government administration
in the leadership of security agencies, especially in the Police and the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.”
This
absolutist politics of the APC is not only a direct threat to democracy in
Nigeria, but seems to be a manifesto for the open politicization of the
security forces of the country.
Dakuku
Peterside’s irresponsible call for a politically-motivated “purge” in the
security forces will spell disaster for Nigeria.
In
a series of media interviews that began with an appearance on “Focus Nigeria”,
a TV programme on
African Independent Television (AIT) in Abuja, and with radio stations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister for Transportation in Nigeria, continues to use language that is both inciting and dangerously divisive.
There are media reports, not denied even by the APC, that Mr. Rotimi Amaechi who has threatened to “do battle” with the PDP and the people of Rivers State
during the polls, was accompanied into Port Harcourt last week by over 500 fully-armed military special forces.
African Independent Television (AIT) in Abuja, and with radio stations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister for Transportation in Nigeria, continues to use language that is both inciting and dangerously divisive.
There are media reports, not denied even by the APC, that Mr. Rotimi Amaechi who has threatened to “do battle” with the PDP and the people of Rivers State
during the polls, was accompanied into Port Harcourt last week by over 500 fully-armed military special forces.
Mr
Amaechi has himself publicly threatened to “flood” every polling unit in Rivers
State with soldiers in a bid to rig the elections in favour of the All
Progressives Congress.
Progressives Congress.
There
are Supreme Court judgments that expressly forbid the use of the military in
election matters, and at the polling booth. Mr Amaechi’s threat to inject
the military directly into the electoral process in Rivers State is therefore alarmingly dangerous and illegal.
the military directly into the electoral process in Rivers State is therefore alarmingly dangerous and illegal.
The
homes of key leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party are being routinely raided
and vandalized by Mr Amaechi’s goons. And plans have already been
perfected to arrest all leaders of the PDP in Rivers State 48 hours to the elections on the 19th of March.
perfected to arrest all leaders of the PDP in Rivers State 48 hours to the elections on the 19th of March.
Mr
Rotimi Amaechi is an influential cabinet Minister in the administration of
President Mohammadu Buhari of Nigeria.
Our
repeated appeals to the President to call Mr Amaechi to order have therefore
gone unheeded.
gone unheeded.
With
a population of 4.5 million people, Rivers State is the oil and gas metropolis
of Nigeria. The eruption of violence in a State with strong multi-ethnic fault
lines could cripple Nigeria’s ailing economy, and reverberate across the country’s borders.
lines could cripple Nigeria’s ailing economy, and reverberate across the country’s borders.
We
therefore call on the Government of the Peoples Republic of China to urgently
initiate and maintain diplomatic pressure on the Federal Government of Nigeria
to allow free, fair and violence-free elections in Rivers State on the 19th of
March 2016.
Yours
Sincerely,
Dr. Austin Tam-George.
Commissioner for Information and Communication,
3rd Floor, Podium Block, Rivers State Secretariat
Complex,
Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, Nigeria
Dr. Austin Tam-George.
Commissioner for Information and Communication,
3rd Floor, Podium Block, Rivers State Secretariat
Complex,
Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, Nigeria
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