TEXT OF A BROADCAST BY HIS EXCELLENCY, NYESOM EZENWO WIKE,CON, GSSRS, POS, GOVERNOR OF RIVERS STATE ON THURSDAY 11TH APRIL 2019
Mydear people of Rivers State,
Itis with profound gratitude to God Almighty that I address you today, Thursday,April 11, 2017.
2.Few hours ago, the Supreme Court of Nigeria struck out the consolidated appealsof the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tonye Cole for lacking in merits.
3.With this decision, all legal issues regarding the fielding of candidates bythe APC for the 2019 National Assembly, Governorship and State House ofAssembly elections in Rivers State have finally and permanently been put to rest.
4.What this further means is that the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and its candidates in the 2019 National Assembly, Governorship and StateHouse of Assembly elections is legally safe, secured and protected.
5.I wish to assure you that there is nothing else to fear or be worried about, asthere is nothing more the APC or any other person can do to deny us the victoryyou freely gave to the PDP and its candidates.
6.Let me again thank God Almighty for His grace and the serial victories since webegan this journey to secure your mandate for a second tenure.
7.Let me also express my deepest gratitude to the people of Rivers State for theopportunity to serve you as your Governor for another four years. I am trulyhumbled by your continued trust and, I will not take this support for granted.
8.For me, the collective interest of the people of Rivers State is the reason Iam in politics. When you gave me the mandate about four years ago, I committedmyself to be the Governor for all the people of Rivers State and stayed throughto that commitment.
9.Today, I recommit myself to be the Governor for all the people of Rivers Statefor the next four years. Accordingly, we shall form an all-inclusive governmentto advance the collective interest of all our people, irrespective of party,ethnic or religious affiliations.
10.We have come along way in the last four years and accomplished a lot to beproud of. But there’s still a lot more to do to advance and realize theultimate vision of our founding fathers for a truly united, secure, andprosperous State and we need the support of all our people to realize this boldvision.
11.We salute the opposition for their courage to fight within the confines of thelaw to the end. Now that the legal battle is over, the task of building theState must take precedence over all other considerations.
12.Although the present politics of acrimony and bitterness may have strayed fromthe noble path of the past, I still believe that we shall be better of standingand working together for our State and our people.
13.I therefore appeal to the APC and the Minister of Transportation to join handswith us to move our dear State forward. We cannot as leaders continue to remaindivided and expect Government to deliver on its responsibilities to our people.Let us from henceforth seek the common ground instead of allowing ourdifferences to be exploited to retard our march to progress.
14.I appeal to our people to eschew all acts of acrimony, criminality, unrest, andviolence throughout the State. I wish to recommit myself to continue to do allthat is humanly possible to ensure the unity and peaceful co-existence of allour people irrespective of political affiliation.
15.Accordingly, I hereby direct the Honourable Attorney General and Commissionerfor Justice to review all pending criminal proceedings filed against any personby the State and directly related to political activities prior to the 2019general elections and make appropriate recommendations to me for necessaryaction to promote reconciliation among us.
16.Finally, I assure all our people of our commitment to our responsibilities witha heart full of gratitude.
17. Thank you. God bless Rivers State and our nation, Nigeria
-Uwaifonews!!!
