Rivers State Government has blasted the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, for calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a State of emergency in the state ahead of the elections.
Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, said the State Government was concerned by what it descrived as a deviant and irresponsible call.
He said: “It is understandable why Tonye Cole would make such a call. All one needs is to recall the Biblical story when the mother whose child had died quickly accepted that King Solomon should cut the surviving child into two halves knowing full well that the baby would die.
“It takes someone who has nothing to lose to call for the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State at this time. Indeed, it can only come from someone who does not like the State and her people.”
Finebone said amidst the campaigns, the Rivers State Government had continued to exercise the highest level of restrain concerning most of the individuals, who claimed to be contesting the governorship election in the State.
He described some of them as notorious gamblers to ‘bogey-bogey’ people saying their motives revolve around carting away whatever was left of the people’s common patrimony.
Finebone added: “It is not far fetched that despite the pretences and chartered delusion by the likes of Tonye Cole hoping against hope, finally, reality is beginning to dawn on them that failure is staring them in the face, hence, the panicky call to bring down the entire house through a state of emergency. Surely, it will not work!
“It must be clearly stated that the State Government has, so far, kept off the partisan political turf allowing the political parties and politicians to do their thing. That should not be taken to mean lack of political will to protect the sacred duties of government to protect lives, property and its own existence.
“A call for state of emergency by any politician is a wanton and impudent attack on the existence of the State Government and cannot be ignored.
“Calling for a state of emergency is not a very intelligent escape route from facing trial and/or losing the 2023 governorship polls. Both outcomes for Tonye Cole appear very obvious. Perhaps the only ones not seeing it are Tonye Cole and his motley decrepit band of blind political neophytes”.
