The Peoples Democratic Party has issued a stern warning to the All Progressives Congress, urging it against taking steps which could lead to the breakdown of law and order in Rivers State.
A statement issued by the PDP in Port Harcourt signed by its Director of Publicity, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke accused the APC of overheating the polity in an effort to precipitate crisis.
Part of the Statement read, “We are aware that what is playing out on the streets is part of a pre-arranged plot by Pastor Tonye Cole and his sponsors to derail the transition process after they were undeniably visited across the State by the ghost of Abandoned Property.
“For days, Mr. Cole, flagbearer of the APC, has been howling in public like a rabid dog.
He has repeatedly blamed INEC, the security agencies and the PDP for the woes which befell his party.
“Somehow, he has refrained from blaming the APC and his very self for running a clueless campaign.
“It is clear, from what we have seen so far, that Cole is on a mission to cause needless trouble, provoke violence, incite crisis and destabilise the State, especially after he was roundly defeated by the PDP and evenly rejected at the polls by the vote of peace loving Rivers people.
“Cole, we acknowledge, has without proof called the PDP names and made certain false allegations about our supposed relationship with INEC and the security forces that are not true.
“The reckless comments credited to this stranger who has talked of the existence of a Wike police have left us in shock.
We are overtly amazed that such unguarded remarks are coming from a supposed gentleman who should be knowledgeable enough about the way law enforcement works.
“Accordingly, it has become necessary to ask the APC which does not have the back of Rivers people to put a stop to its campaign of calumny.
“We have nothing against any move by anyone to seek any relief through legal means allowed within the confines of our statute books.
But we are opposed to any plan by any one to instigate violence, crisis and bloodshed in a peaceful State.
“Despite acts of provocation, the spread of deliberate misinformation, peddling of bare faced lies and aspersions cast on our integrity by elements of the APC, the PDP has remained calm. Not any more.
“The appearance of PDP supporters on the streets on Monday and our demand for the release of certified true copies of election documents has proved beyond reasonable doubt that we have all along been affected by the process put in place by INEC.
“Like the APC, we are required by law to acquire certified true copies of electoral documents in order to effectively file our defence now that it is clear that the APC is determined to fight in court.
“Our demand which has been brought before INEC officials by protesters thus proves the point that the APC has been lying brazenly about the alleged alliance with INEC and the security agencies to undermine it.
“Knowing crimes have been committed in hotels from time to time by persons who use computers to fraudulently obtain other peoples money, the APC should explain to the Rivers people why it chose to take persons whose identities as lawyers were not known at the time of their arrest to a hotel in Port Harcourt to handle a sensitive assignment such as packaging its litigation papers. Why was the legitimate office of the APC not used for the exercise?
“It is a big shame that this outsider who has no stake in the Rivers project; this Lagos-based businessman with no real political taproot in Rivers State; whose hurried attempt to masquerade like a well-bred- Rivers-homeboy has been detected and thrown out by the people, has continued to act like a bull in a China shop.
“After causing mayhem in Rivers State, given what is becoming obvious, Cole plans to escape into Lagos where he has sojourned most of his lifetime to live a life of luxury while those he claims to love suffer from the violence that he is engineering because they aptly rejected his rather bizarre and clueless overtures.
“How can a man like Tonye Cole who wants to paint our streets red with human blood claim to be a Christian and a pastor?
How can he claim to share the aspirations of law abiding Rivers people who voted in the last elections?
“By the grace of God, Cole’s effort to cause bloodshed in Rivers State will fail. It will fail the same way he failed in course of his deceptive run for the governorship seat.
“Let it be known that Cole’s desperation to disparage the electoral process and denigrate our mandate in the name of the APC is exceeding bounds. Peace is a product of wisdom and this why we have ignored him thus far.
“We warn that there is a limit to our perseverance, our peaceful disposition and understanding even as we vow this day, in the name of God, to defend the mandate of the Rivers people and the PDP.
“We also warn that the Rivers people can no longer stomach the viruses that Cole and his disciples are spreading. Cole should go to the Tribunal rather than stoking crisis on the street. That is the right thing to do.
“Cole should leave Rivers people to exist in peace. He should pack up and leave our dear State with his Ajegunle – styled politics that has been confined elsewhere to the rubbish bin. As our elders say, a word is sufficient for the wise.”
