Jonathan, PDP breached Abuja accord----Amaechi
(Nigeria) Ahead of the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly
elections, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of
Rivers State, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP of breaching the Abuja Peace accord.
He accused Mr. President and the PDP of inciting violence in
the country.
Amaechi, yesterday, when the Special Representative of the
United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and High level Representative
of the Secretary-General to Nigeria, Dr. Mohamed Chambas led other top UN
Diplomats and delegation on a courtesy visit to the governor in Port Harcourt, also
accused the President wife, Mrs. Patience Jonathan of taking over control of
the Police in Rivers State.
He said, "Members of APC have been crying out loud to
the country and the world. In Rivers State, the wife of the President, who is
from Rivers State has taken over the control of the Police Force. On Tuesday
night, the Commissioner of Police attempted to arrest a member of the Rivers
State House of Assembly and the reason for doing that is to ensure that APC
members don’t come out on election day. And as I speak to you now, the lawmaker
has moved into Government House for protection. More so, we have over 400 APC
members in Police detention. The other day, I asked the Police Commissioner and
he told me that those arrested were criminals and why should I ask him to
release them. Do we only have criminals in APC?"
“What about the period when the APC gubernatorial candidate
Dr. Dakuku Peterside led members of the party to a rally in Okrika. The APC
campaign train was shot at, by hoodlums and PDP members. Now, ask the
Commissioner of Police if he carried out any arrest? In that attack it was
observed that the PDP killed a Policeman and injured several APC members. The
Commissioner of Police is totally helpless.
“In the same vein, on Tuesday, PDP hoodlums went to the
House of the Commissioner of Power, Mr Augustine Nwokocha with military uniforms and
killed his relations, injured others and further burnt down the house of his
Personal Assistant. All these attacks and impunity can measure that the
elections can be free, but, may not be fair.
“The APC is not running election against PDP all over the
states across the country. The APC is running election against the institutions
of government. And they include; the Police and the Military. The Chief of Army
Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah is from Rivers State. As I talk to you now,
he has deployed Special Military to Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area where he
comes from, and incidentally, the APC guber candidate, Dr. Dakuku Adol
Peterside comes from Opobo. So, you virtually expect resistance and nobody is
concerned about the plight of APC. The APC is threatening to go back to the
International Criminal Court, ICC, where the United Nations will witness how
President Jonathan and the PDP are using the Police and the Military to trigger
violence,” Amaechi said.
Governor Amaechi also condemned and described as totally
unacceptable and unconstitutional the conspiracy between President Jonathan and
the PDP against the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal Judgments
restricting President Jonathan from deploying the Military in the March 28th
and April 11, 2015 general elections.
According to him, “Imagine, there are three Judgments passed
so far by the Federal High Court in Sokoto, the Federal High Court in Lagos and
the Court of Appeal in Lagos restricting the President from deploying soldiers
for the general elections. The constitution of Nigeria says, the President
can’t deploy soldiers for elections."
“It is important that you put this incidents on record. I
don’t know why the battle is here, and may be the battle is here in Rivers
State because in the past PDP used to score two million votes. And now it
appears it will no longer be the same as usual. But that does not mean that
lives of innocent people should be lost. I was there when President Jonathan
and General Muhammadu Buhari signed the Abuja Peace accord. Unfortunately,
President Jonathan and the PDP are yet
to keep any accord or any alphabet of that accord. In the case of APC, the
Party is keeping to the accord and also restricting our members and supporters
from violating the accord."
I have a friend who tells me that everybody has a
fundamental right to air his or her grievances, and that right ends at my nose
where my right begins. The PDP has being swinging their rights and it has
touched our nose continuously with impunity. We are believing God-Almighty that
APC will win well and go to sleep”, Amaechi noted.
Amaechi equally observed with concern a statement credited
to his Deputy Governor, Engineer Tele Ikuru at a PDP function in Port Harcourt
saying, “even if it means for the Presidency and PDP to spill blood to win the
elections, they should go ahead”, describing the statement as malicious and
capable of inciting violence.
“In Nigeria,
Politicians use money to buy guns. It is possible that the PDP can even provide
military uniforms to hoodlums to carry arms against the APC. But, the National
Executive Council of APC is far from that crude attitude and has resolved that
the party must seek ways of minimizing the rising spate of crisis in the
country and ensure the PDP do not tamper with the elections but to ensure free
and fair elections. The Propensity for violence is more on the side of the PDP.
In APC, we have elites, educated and decent minded followers, and if you ask
me, I will urge the United Nations to call President Jonathan to order. I think
it is important that you take this report to the United Nations
Secretary-General to ask President Jonathan to work within the ambit of the
nation’s constitution and ensure peace in the country”, Amaechi said.
Governor Amaechi who also doubles as the Director General of
the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign organisation also described as unacceptable the
involvement of Head of Service of the Federation in Partisan Politics when he
said, “Directors of Ministries and the Federal Civil Service should go home and
make sure they deliver President Jonathan in the general elections”.
Earlier, the Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary-General for West Africa and High level Representative of the
Secretary-General to Nigeria, Dr. Mohamed Ibu Chambas said the delegation was
in Nigeria to sensitize and advise Political Parties and candidates for the
election to ensure a level playing ground.
“We are focusing on
the elections because of the concern of the international community. The focus
globally is on Nigeria, especially on the elections. The Presidential
Candidates, President Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari have signed a peace
accord ahead of the elections. They have advised their followers to do the same
process and INEC should also be allowed to conduct a free and fair elections.
The UN has organized a workforce to assist INEC conduct credible elections in
the country”, Dr. Chambas said.
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