Rivers re-run: Wike faults allegations of political killings

Rivers State governor, Mr Nyesom Wike, has said that the reports of alleged massive insecurity and political killings before the re-run elections were concocted by misguided politicians to mislead Nigerians. Wike He said that Rivers State was largely peaceful with increasing internally generated revenue, IGR, that indicate that businesses are thriving and functional. Speaking when he granted audience to members of the House of Representatives Committee on the Army, investigating the military invasion of Ogoni communities, yesterday, Governor Wike said that after the re-run elections, the sponsored propaganda reports no longer dominate the media because there were no political killings in the state. He said: “Before the rerun elections, you heard of repeated reports of alleged political killings sponsored by misguided politicians. Now that they elections are over, you no longer see such reports. “Like every other state, we have our security challenges, but we don’t have political killings. We have cases of cult related violence, but the security agencies are tackling the issue frontally with the support of the Rivers State Government.” He decried the tendency to play politics with security, noting that the security challenges in the state were prompted by the politicisation of the state’s security framework. “We have a secure state where businesses are thriving. That is why our internally generated revenue is growing steadily,” he added. In his remarks, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Army, Mr Rimamde Kwewum, said that the committee was in the state on a fact finding mission following a petition against the Army by the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, on the killings of Ogoni people in their communities. He said that the committee was not in the state to apportion blame, but to determine what led to the alleged death of 24 persons during the military invasion.