Rivers Guber: PDP, APC engage in smear campaigns to win over Igbo voters

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the state’s dominant Peoples Democratic Party have veered into hate campaigns in an effort to win the support of the Igbo community ahead of the governorship and state assembly elections in Rivers state.

At the inauguration of a road project in Egbeda, Emohua Local Government Area (LGA), Governor Nyesom Wike cautioned Igbo in Rivers to stay away from the APC on March 18.

Days prior to Wike’s warning, Ameachi and Cole claimed that Wike and his administration despise Igbos so much that they refused to support an Igbo son for president and destroyed Igbo shops and property in order to build flyovers in Port Harcourt and the Obio/Akpor LGAs.

Why Rivers Igbo should not vote for the APC for governor—Wike

“We have been living peacefully with our brothers and sisters, Ndi Igbo, doing business peacefully,” Wike said yesterday at the project’s official opening. You should be aware that supporting Tonye Cole means supporting the splitting of Rivers. He is attempting to incite conflict between the Igbo and us so that we can engage in combat, but God forbids such an action. When Amaechi ran for the party’s presidential nomination, Wike claimed that he claimed a different tribe. When he lost, he allegedly supported a northern candidate instead of Peter Obi or another southern candidate.

As your governor, I did a lot for you, but Wike has done the opposite. – Amaechi

Amaechi had spoken to the Igbo community in Rivers two days earlier at a Port Harcourt gathering. He had mentioned that while he was governor, he appointed an Igbo man as commissioner, promoted two to the position of Permanent Secretaries, hired 3,000 teachers, and provided scholarships to a number of others, among other opportunities. However, he added that these privileges had vanished under Wike’s rule.

We cannot win without you, Amaechi commanded the Igbo in Rivers. We will lose if you don’t show up that day. We need you to stand up and come out. We require your courage. If they set fire to your home or business, we’ll replace everything they wreck. You’ll get every kobo you lose back.

From the Ikwerre Local Government Area, I’m an Ibo man. I advise people to pray that the Ibos will not unite. Ibos have gained control of Obio/Akpor Local Government and Port Harcourt City on the day they came together. Chairman will be produced until we are no longer able to.

“You will not suffer, we will not harass you, we will not destroy your business, we will not pull down your shops to build bridges,” Cole assured the Igbos in Rivers as he knocked Wike down. If you elect us, we would prefer to build bridges to support your businesses and general wellbeing.

“All of you have come out to support me. You’ve come to declare your support for the APC. The fact that you support me, however, is insufficient. Make sure that everyone you know turns out to vote on election day because we only have two days to get the word out.

“Don’t give in to fear. Your vote will not be stolen. Your votes will be safeguarded by the military. Anyone who tries to influence your vote should make a life-or-death decision.

(Vanguard)