The Media Campaign Organization of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the legislative re-run elections scheduled scheduled for July 30, says it has uncovered a plot by the governor of Rivers State, Nyesome Wike, and the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to massively rig the elections with financial inducement.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, the group stated that the governor had procured a loan of N9 billion on behalf of the State to bribe INEC officials, buy off PVCs from the voters and compromise security operatives.
The statement further said that at a meeting held by the caucus of the governor in Government House, it identified Senator Abe as the prime target of their scheme and approved that the sum of N10,000 be set aside to buy each voters’ card in Rivers South East Senatorial District.
It stated that in Khana and Gokana Local Government Areas, the plot had commenced as some voters now scramble to sell their voters’ card at the mouth watering offer.
The statement urged the people of Rivers South East to demonstrate their strong will by rejecting the money offered to them by Wike as their future is more important than the pittance.
It assured that Abe is committed to championing the implementation of the cleanup of Ogoni land and the attendant benefits.
The statement also stated that the campaign team was not surprised as Wike from those who knew him closely, had never been a democrat, stating that his approach to politics had always been to rig elections and keep a band of thugs to intimidate opponents.
The statement wondered why the governor would put the people of the State to high indebtedness up to the tune of N9 billion to rig election in his bid to stop Senator Abe in a state where civil servants and teachers had not been paid backlog of their salaries.
“The profligacy of the governor had been legendary. That was why those who knew him well had reservation in his being the governor of the state as he had no consideration to public interest”, it stated.
The media team dismissed the governor’s denial of the claim that the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Rivers State, Aniedi Ikiowak, of being a contractor in the Federal Ministry of Education when the governor was the minister, as being economical with the truth, pointing out that the facts will speak for themselves.
On the comment of the governor that if the election was conducted again that he (Abe) would lose, the statement maintained that Abe had a strong electoral base in Rivers South East and his insisting on free and fair election is not borne out of fear but to secure his votes, adding that should the election be free and fair, there was no way he would not emerge victorious.
The statement further said that even PDP as a party recognised Abe’s popularity among the people and was putting every effort to contain his acceptance, pointing out that it was why it resorted to campaign of calumny and rigging schemes to pull him down.
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