<\/p>\n
Rivers State Governor and Director-General of Buhari Presidential<\/p>\n
Campaign, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has made an urgent appeal to<\/p>\n
President Goodluck Jonathan to call on supporters and members of his<\/p>\n
party, the PDP not to unleash violence on APC supporters in Rivers State<\/p>\n
and across the country.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Amaechi spoke after leading APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu<\/p>\n
Buhari and others on a sympathy visit to the victims of the attack<\/p>\n
numbering about nine at the Kelsey Harrison Hospital in Port Harcourt on<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The victims admitted at the Kelsey Harrison hospital were already being<\/p>\n
treated for wounds sustained from the attack by the suspected PDP thugs.<\/p>\n
Amaechi said the President, apart from calling his men to order should<\/p>\n
also condemn the attack on the APC members by PDP hoodlums.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cImagine that the President goes to campaign in Katsina or in<\/p>\n
Kano and his convoy is attacked, imagine that, we will condemn it. In the<\/p>\n
same manner, we expect the President and the Peoples\u2019 Democratic Party<\/p>\n
should condemn this violence that has been visited on us by their members<\/p>\n
and we expect that they should be able to control their members\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President can\u2019t be promising us free, fair and violence-free<\/p>\n
elections, if he says violence-free election, and here we have already<\/p>\n
experienced violence, what is he expecting us to do?” he asked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Amaechi also called on President Jonathan as Commander-In-Chief to provide<\/p>\n
needed security for all Nigerians irrespective of which party they belong.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI have continued to say that if the state is not able to provide security<\/p>\n
for individuals, individuals begin to provide security for themselves and<\/p>\n
I pray that people don\u2019t begin to provide security for themselves. I pray<\/p>\n
that all of us should come out and support the state to provide security<\/p>\n
and the state must be ready to provide that security\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to him, the PDP by these attacks on APC supporters has shown<\/p>\n
that it is not ready to ensure peaceful or violence-free polls.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that people are being attacked here and there is an indication<\/p>\n
that the PDP is not ready for a free, fair and violence-free elections”,<\/p>\n
he stated.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Governor Amaechi said the state would provide free medical<\/p>\n
service for the victims of the attack and would extend financial support<\/p>\n
to their families during the time they would be in hospital for medical<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Also speaking, Rivers State APC gubernatorial candidate, Dakuku Peterside<\/p>\n
expressed displeasure at the attack by PDP supporters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said the only way for Nigerians to trust President Goodluck Jonathan<\/p>\n
over his avowed desire for peaceful elections in the country is for the<\/p>\n
President to publicly condemn these attacks and ensure they don\u2019t<\/p>\n
re-occur.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Peterside said: \u201cThis is an unfortunate trend. I don\u2019t want to believe<\/p>\n
that violence will characterize the 2015 elections because that is not<\/p>\n
what any one of us desire. The President has said severally, whether he<\/p>\n
means it or not is a different matter, that his ambition is not worth the<\/p>\n
blood of anybody and we agree with him to that extent but again, it is one<\/p>\n
thing to share your philosophy, it is another thing to see your people go<\/p>\n
clearly against what you believe in and you are doing nothing about it. I<\/p>\n
am optimistic that the President and his team and members of his party,<\/p>\n
the PDP will come out strongly and condemn this act of violence visited on<\/p>\n
members of the APC in Rivers State\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said his party, the APC believes in peaceful polls and using peaceful<\/p>\n
means to realize political gains.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was gathered that the APC supporters yesterday on their way to the Gen.<\/p>\n
Muhammadu Buhari Presidential campaign flag-off in Port Harcourt were<\/p>\n
attacked at Elele, and between Emohua and Sama Abalama in Kalabari Kingdom<\/p>\n
and between Kpoki and Kira in Ogoni land.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rivers State Governor and Director-General of Buhari Presidential Campaign, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has made an urgent appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to call on supporters and members…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n