From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has threatened to use the instrumentality of the law to jail politicians that disobey Executive Orders 21 and 22 in the state.
This is as he said the increase in the number of projects delivered by his administration stood out as an unbeatable strategy that would secure winning votes for all candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state in the 2023 general elections.
The governor stated this at the inauguration of the Ahoada -Omoku Dual Carriage-way, yesterday, at the Ahoada State School in Ahoada East Local Government Area.
Executive Orders 21 and 22 prohibit political parties, including the ruling PDP in the state from using public school premises for political rallies without requisite approval and the payment of N5 million non-refundable security fee to the state.
The governor said some politicians were already boasting that with the Army and Police on their side, the Executive Orders were inconsequential, and therefore they would disobey them.
“I didn’t say nobody should use primary and secondary schools for campaigns. All I have said is if you want to use primary and secondary schools for your campaigns, you deposit money. So that when you’ve used the place and spoil anything in the school, government will use the money to repair those things you spoilt and clean up the school. “And there are those who say that they would disobey and no person will do anything. If you do disobey, you know where you will be. Some people put their campaign offices in where people are living. Somebody is coming back to his house, he can’t enter his house. Why, because they are holding political meetings. We say this thing has to be regulated. It has to be in a none residential area. They say they will not, I say you will. If you dare it without approval, you’ll go to jail.”
The governor said while people were talking about vote buying and using money to induce electorate, his administration had remained committed to doing more works for Rivers State people and to make them feel happier.
“Our own campaign is to do work. When you are talking about vote buying, this is the vote buying. We are using work to make the people support us. So, people should not bother themselves thinking people are going to carry money. See our own here, we are using the Ahoada-Omoku road dualisation, we are using Ahoada-Ekpena Road, we are using the university campus, we are using Ochigba/Ogbologbolo/Ozochi Road. What will they (opposition) come here and tell you again.”
Commenting on the Ahoada-Omoku dualised road, Governor Wike said it was completed to add to several projects that had transformed Ahoada into a modern city.
He warned owners of land property who were duly compensated before the road project commenced not to return to build structures on the space left for future expansion work.