Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has restated his threat that any official of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with an intention to rig the forthcoming state and National Assembly rerun elections should prepare his or her Will, stressing that the same punishment meted out to an armed robber will be the lot of such an official. Disclosing this while addressing thousands of civil servants at the State Civil Service Secretariat in Port Harcourt, Wike stated that “Anyone who plans to rig an election is an armed robber and should be treated as such. If you are coming to rig an election in the state, first prepare your will before embarking on the journey. Inform your wife or husband and go ahead to say your last prayer. “When they used the security forces in Bayelsa State, it didn’t work. It will also not work here in Rivers State. Rivers State is a peaceful state and our people are peace loving. We want to remain so,” he said, adding that the people believe in the transformational leadership of the PDP. A statement issued on Tuesday by his media aide, Simon Nwakaudu announced that Wike went on to declare every 27 January as public holiday to commemorate the day his governorship mandate was validated at the Supreme Court. He explained that the public holiday signifies God’s intervention in the affairs of Rivers State. “Every January 27 will be observed as a public holiday in this state because that is the day God came down to save Rivers State. What people must understand is that power comes from God. We know God speaks last and he has spoken,” the Governor stated. He further announced that Friday, February 5, will be a work-free day to enable all Rivers people prepare for the supplementary elections. The Governor urged the civil servants and other Rivers people to ensure they vote for PDP candidates in the re-run elections to promote harmony in governance and sustain the development agenda of the state government. He pointed out that the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, having been shut out by the people and the Supreme Court, plans to use the rerun elections to enter the political arena through the window. Wike maintained that “When someone cannot come through the door, he may want to come through the window. Rivers people must not allow them. Our people must stop them from entering through the window to obstruct the good works of this administration.” Speaking further on the rerun elections, he said that the will of the Rivers people will prevail, adding that the use of security forces and other electoral officials to rig the process will fail woefully. The Governor assured civil servants and pensioners that his administration will continue to pay their salaries and pensions, adding that all welfare issues will be given top priority. Wike, while pledging that steps will be taken by the administration to verify the actual number of civil servants and pensioners to stop payment to ghost beneficiaries, stated that the administration will work out modalities to improve the state’s internally generated revenue.
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