‘Watch Your Mouth, Stop Making Inciting Comments’ – Abe Warns Wike

The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Magnus Abe, has warned Governor Nyesom Wike against making inciting statements capable of causing violence in the state.

Abe gave the warning in a chat with journalists on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, while reacting to comments by Wike during a statewide broadcast on Tuesday.

During the broadcast, Wike stated that some candidates were not prepared for the election, and had no business in contesting in the just-concluded governorship poll.

He said Abe’s ambition was just to be named as the governorship candidate of a party having been denied the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket twice by his former friend, Chibuike Amaechi.

But according to Senator Abe, the statements made by the Rivers governor are capable of provoking aggressive reactions from the people which could lead to chaos.

Abe claimed the masses were unhappy with the manner the governorship and state House of Assembly elections were conducted, even though a perfect election was not expected in the state.

He stressed that the best way to test the popularity of candidates was to allow free and fair elections,  saying that voters were allegedly intimidated, bullied, and coerced to vote for a particular party against their will.

Abe said, “Those who have done what they have done should respect the peace in the state by making sure their comments do not inflame those who are already offended.

“If you want to know if people are ready for the election, you should have allowed the election to hold. You can’t lock up the entire state with violence and expect something different.

“Thousands of non-indigenes that came out to vote were beaten to stupor, how was I supposed to prepare for such an election?  To hire my own thugs and miscreants to get votes?

“The best way to express popularity of candidates was to have allowed people to freely vote with their PVCs but sadly that was not done.”