NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY UNDER SERIOUS THREAT
A STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY NYESOM EZENWO WIKE, CON, GSSRS, POS OVER THE UNWARRANTED BRUTALIZATION OF EKITY PEOPLE BY SECURITY OPERATIVES
In the early ours of today, Ekiti State Government House was attacked by armed security operatives on the orders of the Federal Government in their desperate and deliberate endeavour to stop the Governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from organizing a campaign rally and victory walk in support of the party’s candidate for the Saturday July 14th Governorship election.
2.During the attack, the Governor of the State, His Excellency Ayodele Peter Fayose and scores of innocent citizens and supporters of the PDP were cruelly tear-gassed, physically brutalized and humiliated by the security operatives that carried out the dastardly act.
3.In explaining the attack, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations), Habila Joshak shamelessly claimed that they acted to brutalize the Governor and his people because the rally and peaceful road walk he was to address and lead was not authorized by the police. This claim is totally rubbish and should be told to the marines.
4.Knowing that it cannot defeat the PDP in a free and fair electoral contest, the APC had earlier threatened to cage the Governor and takeover Ekiti State Government House by brutal force.
5.Today’s brutal action was therefore carried out in furtherance of the deliberate plan to intimidate the people of Ekiti State in order to facilitate the actualization of the devilish intentions of the enemies of democracy.
6.I therefore join well-meaning Nigerians to condemn this brazen attack on the inalienable rights of the people of Ekiti State to a peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in the strongest possible terms and warn the perpetrators of the grave danger such actions pose to the survival of our democracy.
7.I wish to also draw the attention of the people of Rivers State to the fact that what is happening at Ekiti State is clearly a foretaste of what the APC-led Federal Government has planned to unleash in our State and in deed, the entire country, in their desperate attempt to rig 2019 general elections and retain or return to power having performed woefully and lost the support of the generality of Nigerians.
8.As a matter of fact, people did not quite believe me when I told the world that the APC-led Federal Government has plans to assassinate me to enable them capture Rivers State because they know they have no electoral foothold in the State.
9.Today, the whole world has seen how Governor Ayo Fayose was barely lucky to have escaped the State-sponsored attempt at his life with a fractured hand and bruised face because, with him around, hale and hearty, they will never win the Saturday elections free and fair in Ekiti.
10.In the face of these challenges therefore, I wish to call on the people of Rivers State to be prepared to fight and defend their rights to freely and democratically elect their leaders in the 2019 general elections.
11.I sincerely believe as most of us do, that Rivers State is worth dying for and it is the responsibility of everyone of us to defend and save our democracy from being killed by the fascist, clueless, confused and irresponsible APC-led regime.
12.As your Governor I will never surrender your mandate and abiding interest of our State to our enemies who seek to keep us enslaved and plundered even at the pain of death.
13.I wish to commend and congratulate the irrepressible Governor Ayo Fayose and the people of Ekiti State for standing up and standing firm in defence of their rights to freedom, democracy and good governance.
14.I want to assure you of the support of the Government and people of Rivers State at these trying times. You need not fear as God will surely defeat your enemies and grant you a resounding victory come Saturday 14th July 2018.
Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON, GSSRS, POS, Governor, Rivers State
