Rivers State Governor, Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, has blamed security agencies for the violence that engulfed the March 19 national and state assembly rerun election in the state.
This is just as a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Amadi, called on stakeholders in the state to resolve their differences in order to move the state forward.
The governor accused some security agencies of deviating from decisions reached during the state security council on the deployment of personnel to security flashpoints.
Wike, who spoke yesterday at Government House, Port Harcourt, while addressing traditional rulers from the 23 local government areas of the state, stated that none of the strategies that were collectively mapped out was implemented.
He said the state government on its own furnished all the security agencies with the required support to carry out their security responsibilities before, during and after the elections.
The governor stated that he invited the traditional rulers because of the need for them to get first hand information on efforts by the state government to ensure security.
“Before the elections, I wrote to INEC national chairman on the challenges that would affect the elections and that they could cause crisis. I wrote to them on the compromised list of adhoc staff that favoured a particular political party. INEC failed to acts on our concerns.”
Meanwhile, Hon. Chidi Amadi, while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, stated that the time for blame game had gone.
Amadi said, “Rivers state is in dire need of peace. This state needs to move forward. The essence of politics, elections and democracy is to ensure that the welfare of the people is met. The focus of all politicians, irrespective of the party, is to see how to entrench peace in our state and move it forward.”
Emphasizing that there was need for all sides in the polity to meet and ensure peace for the state to meet her development needs, the former lawmaker said, “Peace cannot be engendered by an individual; it requires a deliberate and conscious efforts from all sides, it is no more time to continue the blame game , it is time for us to ensure that peace returns to our state.”