The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says midnight meetings were held to plot the attack on its secretariat. The APC believed to be backed by the FCT Minister told newsmen in a briefing that they were aware of the midnight meeting.
The caretaker committee chairman, Tony C. Okocha, said he was aware and that he was briefed, but that he took it as child’s play. He was there was a plan to make Rivers State the epicentre of the protest for obvious reasons.
“One reason is that they said they need to get at Mr President, that Mr President does not seem to be supporting them, and so, there cannot be peace here. That’s one.
“The other one is that they had planned to humiliate the Senate President. If you see the placards, if you see what they carry, they said the Senate President must resign.
“The third reason is that they want to undermine our leader, the Honourable Minister Nyesom Wike, who you all know had been against the protest in Abuja. They said ok, if you’re doing that, they’re protesting in your own State, and in all, the Governor looks for the slightest opportunity to curry favour.”
He said the attack on the APC secretariat was sponsored, and said: “Our concern essentially is why did the Governor mobilize and include the APC Secretariat in Rivers State in his list to be destroyed? Why?”
Okocha reeled out demands, asking for what he called heavy security in the secretariat. The police are already guarding all the 23 LGA secretariats in the state due to a conflict of who were the rightful council chairmen.
He went on: “The property housing the state APC secretariat is not owned by us. The landlord has been calling profusely with concerns. Let the world know through you.”
Okocha demanded that the state governor should see them as a registered political party and as the party in power at the centre, and not as enemies.”
He used the opportunity to elaborate on the rollout of 10,000 internship jobs for Niger Delta youths.
