Rivers APC Calls Off Rally In Honour Of Okrika Gun Attack Victims

Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, has called off his planned campaign tour of Ogu/Bolo local government area billed for today (Wednesday).

The campaign train of the APC guber candidate was attacked in Okrika on Tuesday by heavily-armed gunmen, who several eyewitnesses claimed were led by Evans Bipi, the self-styled speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly and a Personal Assistant to Mrs. Patience Jonathan, wife of Nigeria’s President.

The attack left at least two persons, including a police man, dead and several others injured in the ensuing stampede. The bodies of the deceased have since been deposited in the mortuary.

It was learnt that during a visit to the hospitals, including Braithwaite Specialist Hospital, Peterside broke down in tears at the sight of those currently receiving treatment.

A statement by Ibim Semenitari, Director of Communications, Greater Together Campaign Organisation, the campaign team of Mr. Peterside, the decision to cancel today’s rally was in honour of the dead.

“The decision to call-off the Ogu/Bolo campaign by Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the APC Governorship candidate, was in honour of those killed by the gunmen who attacked the APC campaign on Tuesday in Okrika. Dr. Peterside is grieved over the losses and has sympathised with the families of those killed while wishing the injured quick recovery”, Semenitari said.

The statement further explained that Dr. Peterside and the APC stood firmly by the non-violence Peace Accord signed by political parties in Rivers State brokered by the Embassy of the United States of America in Nigeria.

“Despite this deliberate, well-co-ordinated attack on the APC governorship candidate and APC supporters, the candidate and party stand firm to the spirit and letter of the Non-violence Peace Accord brokered by the American Embassy in Nigeria.

“The Greater Together Campaign Organisation condemns the attack and disruption of the APC campaign in Okrika, while commiserating with families that lost their loved ones and breadwinners. That is the tale of woe the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has imposed on Okrika people, which is unacceptable and must be broken through the peoples’ collective resilience”, Semenitari added.