The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has come out to claim that his government has received an intelligence report that a good number of politicians in the state have allegedly started recruiting cultists and ex-convicts to be used as political thugs before and during and after next year’s general elections.
In a state broadcast which was monitored by Africa Today News, New York on Sunday, Governor Wike revealed the reports also indicated that meetings for such recruitment are being held in hotels and other entertainment centres around the state.
He warned that his administration will not allow any politician, despite his past or present status or political leaning, to upset the relative peace which the security agencies have struggled to maintain in Rivers State.
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Governor Wike, however, warned of more radical action against accomplices of the criminal plot, saying his administration will “pull down any hotel or entertainment centres where such gatherings are held”.
The Rivers State Governor also revealed that the security agencies have been alerted to be on the trail of those politicians suspected of recruiting the thugs.
He called for more vigilance among the residents while thanking them for their support since assuming office in 2015.
At the national level, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the Wike had last week held a closed-door meting in Abuja to resolve the issues besieging them and bury the hatchet of discord in order to work together for 2023.
Atiku Abubakar and Nyesin Wike, who have been known to be having a running battle since the PDP presidential primary had also met in the house of Professor Jerry Gana.
Atiku had defeated Wike in the primary, and the Rivers’ governor indicated interest in being the presidential running mate, but the former VP settled for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State. This worsened a hitherto PDP crisis, as Wike fraternised with leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).