Peterside blames governor for increased insecurity in Rivers

monjola sotubo

February 29, 2016 11:56 AM

Peterside further accused Wike’s government of arming militants and cult gangs operating in the state.

The Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike

The APC candidate made the allegations via a statement released on Sunday, February 28, 2016.

“It is regrettable but true that in many communities in Rivers State today cult gangs hold sway. They control the social and economic souls of the people, including traditional structures which have been rendered impotent.”

“The cult gangs were armed by politicians in the build up to 2015 general elections. Like Frankenstein monsters, they are now too powerful to those who armed them and had enjoyed pyrrhic benefits from their activities.”

“The situation has so degenerated that nobody, including those who created the monsters, feels safe anymore. The physical landscape of Rivers State communities is painted with boys armed to the teeth and walking about freely to the discomfort of citizens.”

“We are yet to feel the effect of any concrete action taken by Nyesom Wike- led Rivers State Government to stem this worsening insecurity. A town hall meeting which he held in Omoku on the urging of Rt. Hon. Andrew Uchendu degenerated into a display of power by way of suspending three Local Government Caretaker Committee chairmen and a strange order to security agents to kill suspected cultists.”

“The aloofness of the state government has actively promoted the view in the public space that it is behind the prevailing insecurity and free reign of criminals in the state.”

“Nothing challenges a government more than to lose the moral right to fight criminality. When a government persistently fails in its primary duty of securing lives and property, and does not show that it is committed to fighting against those who threaten our peace, the despair of the citizenry can best be imagined.”

“Today the people of Rivers state are groaning under the unbearable weight of kidnapping, assassinations, armed robbery, political violence, gun running, harassment, and all forms of criminality. The general question is how long are we going to live like this?”

“There is an evil in Rivers State and I have chosen to speak against it. If anything happens to me, Nigerians, Rivers, Ogoni people and my family should hold Governor Nyesom Wike and his PDP people responsible because the threat against my life is too much.”

Peterside lost his final bid at the governorship on January 27, 2016, when the Supreme Court held that Wike had been validly elected as the state’s governor on April 11, 2015.

monjola sotubo