… Wike’s refusal to honour police panel, bad omen –Rivers APC 

From Chris Anucha, Port Harcourt

Twenty-one police officers attached to the escort unit of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have been arrested and moved to the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Their arrest and transfer to Abuja was said to be on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Idris.

The arrested officers were alleged to have shot sporadically into the air during the December 11 legislative rerun elections in the state.

The shooting allegedly took place in a collation centre in the Rivers East senatorial district.

It was  also gathered that the escort commander had earlier been issued a query over the alleged shooting, and he was said to have responded to it.

In his response, the escort commander was said to have denied the allegation of sporadic shootings levelled against his unit. The officer also cited several orders and protocols, which forbid governor’s escort team from releasing gunshots, except in extreme case, which was not the case in the matter under reference.

Rivers State Government had accused men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), led by Akin Fakorode,  Chief Superintendent of  Police (CSP), of engaging the services of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

When contacted to react to the alleged transfer of the police officers, the Police Command, through its spokesman, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, denied any knowledge of the transfer.

“I am not aware. To the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of such thing yet,” he said on phone.

Meanwhile, Wike’s refusal  to cooperate with a panel set up by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to investigate the violence which marred the legislative rerun elections has been described as a bad omen.

“This is a direct affront to federal powers and should be met with appropriate response by those whose authority he is challenging so as not to embolden others to follow his dangerous example,” the state chapter of the All Progressives Cingress (APC) said, yesterday.

The party, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by by the state chairman, Chief Davies  Ikanya, expressed dismay that Wike had the effrontery to set up a parallel commission of inquiry on the rerun elections.

“By so doing, Wike has clearly crossed the line and should be put in his proper place by the Federal Government whose powers he is brazenly challenging.”

The party alleged that Wike’s sole purpose in setting up the kangaroo commission was to ridicule APC leaders and make nonsense of the efforts by the police to probe and stop further killings in Rivers State.

“It is laughable and a mockery of civilised procedure for Wike, whom everybody knows is the brain behind most of the killings and insecurity in Rivers State, to set up a judicial commission on the said killings instead of submitting himself to a federal panel set up by a neutral party.

Yesterday, Wike presented a budget of N470 billion to the state House of Assembly.

The 2017 budget is christened: “The Golden Jubilee Budget for accelerated development.”

This year’s budget is higher by N163 billion, when compared to that of 2016 which was N307 billion.

A breakdown of the 2017 budget showed that capital expenditure would gulp N329 billion representing 70 percent, while N141 billion is proposed for the recurrent expenditure.

The governor noted that Rivers State would be 50 years next year, adding that it was the reason for christening the budget accordingly.

“Rivers State will be 50 years old next year, and to herald this historic landmark, we have christened the 2017 budget “the Golden Jubilee budget for accelerated development.

“This budget is premised on the need to consolidate on our achievements for 2016 and restore the state’s economy to sustained growth path and expand economic opportunities for all.”

He said the budget will enhance the business environment as well as tackle security challenges in the state.

that would encourage the private sector to thrive.

He explained that the budget would expand the state’s tax revenue base, as well as driving the economy through the value chain, into becoming one of the largest economies in West Africa.

“This budget is underpinned by the following basic principles: “First, enhancing the business environment, including tackling the security challenges for the private sector to grow, expand our tax revenue base, and drive our economy through the value chain into becoming one of the largest economies in West Africa;

“Second, committing a greater proportion of available resources towards infrastructure development and public works, to stimulate economic growth, create employment and reduce poverty.”

According  to  the  governor, in 2017 budget, priority attention would be given to the following areas, security of lives and property; infrastructure development and maintenance; education, healthcare delivery, and empowerment.

 

“As much as we respect Justice Chinwendu Nwogu, we pray and hope that by accepting to chair this kangaroo commission, he will not end up allowing Wike to ridicule his hard-earned reputation. The truth is that, if the commission is to be taken serious, it should indict both Wike and the state PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, for their belligerent acts that fuelled violence during the rerun polls,” the statement said.

“We wish to caution all and sundry that Wike’s recent boast that no force, not even God, can remove him from office should not be taken on its face value as this is one of his strategies and later embark upon another act of hooliganism and mayhem in Rivers State knowing that nobody or agency can call him to order. He has started his plot against the Ogonis even after the rerun election was successful won by Senator Magnus Abe to represent South East senatorial district.

“With the killing of nine persons mostly of APC extraction in (Khana) Ogoni communities at the early hours of today by Wike’s hoodlums which they intend to replicate in other communities in the state and after to lay the blame on the security agencies in his current plot to discredit the security agencies, we wish to state once more that Wike has constituted himself not only as a nuisance but a serious threat to our nascent democracy and if we continue to treat his case with kid’s glove, we, as a nation, will have ourselves to be blamed.

“We will like to state that Wike’s unreasonable antagonism against the current Federal Government under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari for reasons best known to him, and for him to sponsor attacks against agencies of the Federal Government, is irresponsibility taken too far, which must be condemned by all and sundry. We have shouted ourselves hoarse that Wike is a threat to the current democracy in our country, but it seems that nobody wants to take us serious. We wish to reiterate once again that the continued treatment of Wike’s excesses with kid gloves is a bad omen which should be decisively checked before it plunges this country into avoidable chaos.”

Rivers APC declared that Wike must submit himself to the police probe panel to throw more light on the audio tape in which he was heard threatening to kill Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, as well as sponsorship of various acts of violence in the state.