The Rivers chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council has said the PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has proved in words and deeds to be an unrepentant enemy of Rivers and Nigeria.
The party hailed the decision of Governor Nyesom Wike to deny the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation the use of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, for Atiku’s rally scheduled in Rivers for February 11.
The Rivers PDP Campaign Council in a statement on Thursday by its Director of Publicity and Communications, Ogbonna Nwuke, said the Rivers people would not collude with persons, who did not share their aspiration for a stable and better society.
Nwuke said: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is proving by the day, through words and deeds, to be an unrepentant enemy, not just of ordinary Nigerians, but also of the Rivers people.
“At a time that Rivers people of all walks of life are struggling with great difficulty to obtain scarce funds from banks to buy food for their families to eat, when the CBN is responding to the cries of ordinary Nigerians and the National Assembly over its currency swap policy, Atiku whose only interest is to be a Nigerian President is urging the apex bank not to bend to the will of the people.
“How mean and out of tune can this man who wants power at all costs be? His latest call on the CBN not to listen to public opinion proves beyond reasonable doubt that all that Atiku has, all that he feels for the Nigerian people is contempt.
“Most vehicle owners in this State and others across Nigeria are parking their motor cars because they do not have money to access petroleum products. They are victims of an evil cabal which does not trust in the wellbeing of the nation and its people.
“Nigerians are not puns on a chessboard. They are humans who feel pain, people who have aspirations of their own and rights that must be protected by the Nigerian State.”
Nwuke said they were shocked that in obtaining permission to use the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, those who ought to appreciate the kind gesture of the governor were conniving with a violent faction of the APC.
He said: “The Almighty God will continue to expose all who hate Rivers State. This is why the collaboration of the Presidential Campaign Council of the PDP with a violent faction of the APC, attempts to distort the peace in an otherwise peaceful State, has been revealed.
“We thank Governor Nyesom Wike for taking urgent steps to deny the Atiku team of the use of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium. Recall that on the 11th of January 2023, the governor had graciously released the facility to the presidential candidate of the PDP for free.
“We believe that the decision to approve the stadium for use by the Presidential Campaign Council of the PDP was borne out of the conviction by Governor Wike that it is equitable and germane to give a fair chance to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his supporters to access the government facility”.
Nwuke added: “As a people, we are constrained by our perception of what should constitute our quest for the realization of the ‘general good’, to separate the noble goals of the PDP as an entity from the desire of an individual whose parasitic lust for power over the years is well known.
“Our primary concern, as we speak, is the welfare and wellbeing of Rivers people. This should be paramount and this is why we stand with Governor Wike, following his decision to revoke an approval earlier granted for the use of a state facility.
“In collaborating with a deadly, blood thirsty group led by Tonye Cole, Atiku has proved that he is the mastermind of a move to instigate violence in a State that is peaceful.
“Now that the Rivers people know how vicious, selfish and uncaring Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is, and understand that he is up to no good, this is the time to avoid him completely in the interest of the nation.
“There are those in our midst, blinded by personal gain, who clone Atiku as a friend of the Rivers people. He is not a friend. He never was.
“We urge Rivers people who believe in the future of Rivers State to throw their weight behind the candidates of the Rivers PDP, from the governorship, Senate, House of Representatives to the State House of Assembly. “