Political violence in Rivers is state sponsored – Magnus Abe

The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Magnus Abe, has said that the political violence in the state is sponsored by state actors.

Abe stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

He said that some local government chairmen in the state mobilized youth to attack his supporters recently.

He said, “I am not just mentioning names. These are issues that are in public circulation. When we went to Okrika, two vehicles were used to block the road to stop us from having access to the local government.

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“I am telling you what actually happened. People went and pulled down our banners. If I call their their names there are people who are known to everybody here in the state. These are not unknown gunmen. What is happening in Rivers State is officially sponsored terrorism that is happening with connivance of security agencies.”

But responding to Abe’s claim, the spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council in the state, Ogbonnaya Nwuke, said the SDP candidate’s verbal attack on Governor Nyesom Wike was uncharitable and obviously diversionary.

He said, “Abe’s verbal attack on Governor Nyesom Wike, his benefactor, is uncharitable and obviously diversionary. Abe has a truckload of political enemies, right from his days in the APC, who are after him.

“The truth is, the bitterness, anger, hate, pain and the sorrow he created, particularly in the hearts of those who lost out after spending hard earned money in the field as APC candidates in 2019, trail him everywhere he goes. Abe cannot claim to be unaware of this.

“In the SDP where he is now, Abe who has failed to embrace everyone in the party knows that he is currently facing serious opposition from a faction whose State Chairman is from Ogoni.

“These opponents who are fighting him in every way are not relenting. If you have an ear to the ground, you will hear that Abe’s enemies want him to have a taste of his own medicine. Instead of dealing with problems that he created, he has joined a band of political choristers who sing a song about Wike and blame him for what he does not know.

“Abe is more like a Nollywood actor. The same man, you will recall, was flown abroad under false pretence after claiming he was hit by a live bullet fired by police. Nobody ever saw the bullet wound! Nobody ever saw the scar!

“Abe knows where he removed his boxer, let him go there and wear it. In the PDP we are not doing violence. We are doing “mouth talk”. We are vigorously campaigning while those who cannot meet up with our pace are busy writing and acting scripts in order to divert attention from their inadequacies.”