•••FG planning to subvert the will of the people –Fayose

•We’re not aware –Police

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From Chris Anucha, Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has  alleged that his Chief Security Officer (CSO) has been withdrawn.
He said the CSO was withdrawn, alongside other policemen  attached to the Government House, Port Harcourt.
According to him, the withdrawal of the CSO was a continuation of the police high command’s plot to assassinate him.
He disclosed this yesterday at Khana Local Government Area  when he led the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates to campaign at Babbe, Ken Khana and Nyor Khana districts of the area.
The governor alleged that the police high command also transferred 500 senior and junior police officers serving in the state, and replaced them  with policemen from other states.
He said with the alleged partisanship of the police and their plot to compromise his security, he was now looking up to God and the youths for  protection.
According to him, the police high command withdrew his CSO after the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Steven Hasso, attempted to invade the Government House, Port Harcourt.
“Does the Inspector General of Police (IGP) vote in Rivers State? The APC can  take the IGP. For me, I will remain with the people,” Wike said.
He urged youths in all the locations where elections would hold to monitor results from polling units, to the collation centres, adding that the youths would resist anyone trying to smuggle in cooked up results.
He declared Wednesday to Friday as fasting days for the December 10 rerun and urged the people to use the three days to pray for peaceful and credible elections.
In his remarks, Senator Lee Maeba urged Ogoni people to vote Senator Olaka Nwogu, to represent the Rivers South-East senatorial district.
When contacted on telephone to react to the governor’s allegation, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr.  Nnamdi Omoni, cut the call and later sent an SMS which read: “I’m in a meeting.” But he did not call back as at the time of filing this report.
In a statement later sent to newsmen, the command spokesman said  he was not aware of any transfer of police officers or withdrawal of Governor Wike’s CSO.
He said there was usually a signal to back up transfer of police officers.
“As far as I know, if anybody is transferred, there is usually a signal to that effect. I am not privy to any signal about the transfer of police officers or withdrawal of  governor’s CSO,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has condemned the alleged removal of Governor Wike’s CSO less than five days to the re-run election. “With this ignoble action by the Federal Government, it is now clear that the Federal Government is out to subvert the will of the people of Rivers State by whatever means in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he claimed.
Governor Fayose alerted the international community to the imminent danger being posed to Nigeria by the APC-led Federal Government.
“Nigeria deserves total attention from the international community at this time. The international community should not look the other way while those holding power in Abuja plunge the country into crisis of international magnitude,” he said.
Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, quoted the governor as saying: “It was getting clearer that Governor Wike was right when he claimed that there was a plot to assassinate him before Saturday.”
The governor said President Muhammadu Buhari should be reminded that he swore to protect all Nigerians, irrespective of the party they belonged.
“How can anyone tamper with security aides of a state governor without his consent? How can the CSO of a state governor be changed without the consent of the governor? Isn’t it now clear that they actually want to kill Governor Wike before the Saturday election?”
Governor Fayose, who said all steps being taken by the Federal Government were geared towards turning Nigeria to a one party state, warned that “Nigeria can never be turned to a one party state and if care is not taken, by the time this house of democracy is destroyed by the APC cabal, no one will be spared.”
He said those trying to impose their will on the people by whatever means must leant from history, especially what happened in Nigeria between 1979 and 1983 .
In a related development, Governor Wike has denied an allegation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he was instigating violence ahead of the December 10 legislative rerun elections.
The governor, who made the denial in Port Harcourt on a live television programme monitored in Government House, explained that he owed it  a duty to alert the people to the irregularities happening in the state.
He maintained that the disclosure by the state government of an alleged plot by INEC to rig elections in the state could not be regarded as an incitement.
“We must alert the people to what is going on; if that is an incitement, so be it,” he said.
The governor also alleged that the Commissioner of Police, Francis Odesanya had stopped visiting or communicating with him, in his position as the governor of the state.
“As I speak to you, do you know that commissioner of police cannot come to see the governor, he cannot discuss with the governor. But the president said this election should be violence-free and I want it to be violence-free,” he said.
However, Rivers State Police Command and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), have declared their readiness for the rescheduled national and state assemblies rerun elections on Saturday.
Police and INEC stated this yesterday during their meeting with other security agencies and political parties, as well as candidates in the forthcoming rerun polls in the state.
Commissioner of Police,  Mr. Francis Odesanya, while addressing stakeholders at the Police Officers’ Mess,  Port Harcourt, said security presence would not give room for criminally-minded persons to hijack the electoral process on Saturday.
He disclosed that 25,000 policemen had been drafted to the state for the election
He said the command would withdraw police orderlies attached to politicians in the state during the exercise,  stressing that the force would not allow any police officer to go close to the polling unit with guns and ammunition.
He assured that the police would remain unbiased in providing equal playing field for all the political parties in the exercise and warned that the law would deal with perpetrators of violence in the election.
“Police will be deployed massively. If you have in mind to sew materials for political thugs, we will take you by surprise,” he said.
INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Elder Aniedi Ikiowak, said the commission would commence the distribution of sensitive materials for the elections on Thursday, after retrieving them from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Port Harcourt on the same day.