faction of the All Progressives Congress led by Mr. Ojukaye Flagg
–Amachree of violently disrupting the bye-election into Port Harcourt
State Constituency 3 scheduled today by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC).
The Party condemned the activities of the APC faction which used armed
bandit to cart away electoral materials including result sheets. The
violent activities were massively and openly aided by the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police in Rivers State.
The Party however commended the INEC for the suspension of the entire
exercise following the large scale violence visited on the constituency by
these hoodlums and anti-democratic forces with their collaborators in SARS
and other security outfits.
The PDP also commendedits members from the Port- Harcourt State
Constituency 3 for their maturity, restraintand peaceful conduct which
would have resulted in threat to public peace. The party warned that it
shall no longer tolerate again such wanton disruption of a democratic
exercise and that the restraint by its members and supporters should not
be misconstrued as an act of cowardice or sign of weakness, as no person
or group has monopoly of violence. The PDP has sufficient capacity to
contain such lawless act and would use all legally availablemeans to
protect its members and the electorate from wanton molestation and naked
exhibition of electoral violence.
The party warned the APC faction led by Mr.Ojukaye Flagg-Amachree that
elections can never be won by guns, bullets and physical brutality.
Rather, the people must be allowed to exercise their freedom of choice as
to who represents them through the ballot box.
The PDP called on all security agencies to maintain absolute neutrality in
their participation in future elections in order to save democracy.
The party stated that there is sufficient evidence of the ignoble roles
played by these enemies of democracy and their collaborators. It expressed
fear and palpable concern that the mayhem of the APC faction in the State
is a pointer to the evil agenda for the 2019 elections in Nigeria which
APC knows it cannot freely win. Resort to violence does not guarantee
electoral victory.
It urged security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter and punish
the perpetrators to act as deterrent.