THE All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has thrown its weight behind the current probe of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan, by the Department of State Services.
The party, in a statement signed by the state Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, berated the Peoples Democratic Party for seeking to stop the DSS from carrying out its constitutional duties.
Ikanya argued that the PDP’s posture on the arrest of the state REC by the DSS indicated that they (PDP and REC) were in alliance.
“By petitioning the DSS over the probe of Mrs. Gesila Khan, the PDP Reps have publicly exposed the unholy alliance between their party and REC.
“We have been crying even before the March 28 and April 11 elections, in which she brazenly took sides with the PDP and worked overzealously to return the party’s candidates for all the positions, so as to justify the huge sums of money she collected from the then ruling party and please her relation, the then President Goodluck Jonathan,” Ikanya said.
The party, in the statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt, challenged the state REC to explain the source of the N700m reportedly found in her account.
The state APC accused the former President and the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, of being behind the N700m allegedly found in the state REC’s account.
“Jonathan Presidency and Candidate Nyesom Wike paid out (the money) to the woman to buy the mandate of Rivers people in the last general elections. Sadly, they did not tutor her well enough on how to deal with such huge amount of money.
“Under the new dispensation, the law is not a respecter of individuals, stressing that Mrs. Khan and some of her key staff invited for questioning by the DSS are not above the law.
“If they are sure of the results of the elections in Rivers State, all they need to do is to report to the DSS and prove their innocence,” Rivers APC said.
It lambasted the Rivers Federal Lawmakers, saying: “The petitioners here are beneficiaries of the alleged crime perpetrated by REC Khan and her INEC collaborators, so they have no moral justification to protest. Since when did the Reps become defenders of INEC officials?
“If Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), a former National Security Adviser, a former ADC to one-time Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, and a scion of the royal caliphate in Sokoto, can be investigated by the DSS, then why the cry over the move to investigate Mrs. Khan and her collaborators?
“Are they bigger than Gordon Obuah, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Chief Security Officer, who is also being investigated by the DSS despite being a senior DSS official and still in service?” Ikanya queried.
The state APC, however, advised the PDP to come to realise that everyone should be prepared at all times to defend his or her stewardship, saying, “Power has changed hands for good and no one is a sacred cow. Even President Buhari has made it clear that no one shall escape justice.”
Reacting, the Special Assistant on Media to the State Governor, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, said Wike won the April 11, 2015 governorship election fairly. In compliance with the electoral law, he maintained that the APC was never on the ground.
“It is obvious that the resort to the fraudulent use of intimidation and harassment against officials of INEC is only an admission that they have no case against the election of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
PUNCH
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