The Rivers State government says it will resist alleged secret plan to use the police to install a particular individual as next governor in 2015.
A statement on Sunday signed by the chief press secretary to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, David Iyofor, said the alleged plot could throw the state into avoidable crisis.
The state government said it was reacting to reports earlier in the day detailing how the new commissioner of police had been directed to install a certain gubernatorial aspirant as governor in the 2015.
The Rivers State government, however, declared thus, “The people of Rivers State will strongly and bravely resist any attempt by anyone or institutions, including to unconstitutionally install the preferred aspirant as governor of the state, now or in 2015”.
The statement reads, “There is no provision in the Nigerian constitution and laws for the ‘installation’ of a preferred aspirant as governor of a state. What our laws prescribe is a free and fair election that must be devoid of police and security forces’ coercion, harassment and intimidation of voters. Rivers voters must be allowed to and will freely choose and elect their governor. It is their inalienable democratic right that they will not and will never surrender to anyone or institution, including the presidency”.
The government said: “We must warn that the looming danger ahead for our polity and our country is indeed ominous, if this noxious script is acted out. This is an avoidable crisis that must be avoided by all parties mentioned in the reports.
Again, we congratulate and welcome the new commissioner of police in Rivers State, Dan Bature. We expect and hope that he would act professionally and would firmly resist any external influences and pressure to be politically biased and partisan in the discharge of his duties to Rivers people as the police chief. We pray that God and his conscience guide him to do only what is constitutional, lawful, right, just and fair in the policing of Rivers State. We assure Rivers people that we will remain vigilant as we head towards the 2015 elections”.
The reports had alluded to the office of the first lady as where the ‘order’ to install a particular governorship aspirant came.
The government said, “While it is easy for a few in the presidency to dismiss these reports, we in Rivers State, with the benefit of hindsight and our collective recent bitter experience in the hands of former police commissioner who was also reported to have a similar mandate, cannot, but take this very serious”.
