Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday declared his readiness to lay down his life, if necessary, to stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) from snatching the state from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“I am ready to place myself on line, nobody will take Rivers state”,  a statement by his spokesperson, Simon Nwakaudu, who quoted the governor as speaking at a thanksgiving service.

On the recent ruling by the Court of Appeal which annulled the election of a PDP senator and replaced him with that of the APC, Wike called for calm. “ In 2019, they will not succeed. As far as we are concerned, we have no senator in Rivers East. The man going there has no capacity to represent us,” he said.

Speaking during a Thanksgiving Service in honour of Senator George Thompson Sekibo at the St Thomas Anglican Church in Diobu, Governor Wike said that the leadership style of the APC has turned the police and INEC into rigging machines that threaten the peace of the country.

The Appeal Court judgment which led to the loss of Rivers East Senatorial District, he alleged, was a fallout of the unfortunate illegal alliance between the police and INEC. He explained that the APC tendered results certified by the Police to the Tribunal, which the tribunal relied on, rather than the results declared by INEC. He said incidentally, both the INEC and Police results had the same serial numbers, which revealed the fraud perpetrated by the two institutions. According to him, this was enough evidence of unholy alliance between the two agencies.

“Instead of bringing change as they promised, things are getting worse. They have introduced extreme fraud in the country, especially denying the people their mandate. 2019, they will not succeed. As far as we’re concerned, we have no senator in Rivers East. The man going there has no capacity to represent us. All of us should be ready. We should be praying to God, but ready to fight,” he said.

“Nobody should be afraid of the Police or Army, because liberty comes with a price. They have nothing to campaign with outside the use of security. I am ready to place myself on line, nobody will take Rivers State.”