Wike Bows To Pressure, Approves Use Of Stadium For Atiku’s Campaign Rally, Waive N5m Fee
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has approved the use of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) for Rivers state presidential campaign rally of party candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, with a waiver on the N5 Million venue fee stipulated by Wike’s Executive Order 21.
The development confirmed speculations making the rounds for days that the Atiku campaign rally, earlier fixed for the Port Harcourt Polo Club for fear of breaching Wike’s Executive Order 21 may have shifted to the expansive Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium on the orders of the Rivers governor.
The governor, however, gave the favour with a caveat to the Presidential Campaign Council that the Stadium will be accessible to the council 48 hours before the February 11th, 2023 presidential campaign.
Wike, disclosing this at the campaign rally by the Rivers State PDP Campaign Council for Oyigbo LGA Friday warned the Director-General of the PCC in Rivers State, Dr Abiye Sekibo, not to provoke the State government by desperation to grab access to the stadium earlier than expected, else the approval will be withdrawn.
The Governor in his warning told Abiye Sekibo, “We have approval for your presidential candidate to use Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, on February 11th. You have no right to begin to go to the stadium now. We can only give you access for two days to the occasion for you to prepare.
“Nobody gave you one month. So, if you dare it again, to go and force yourself into the stadium, I will cancel the approval with immediate effect. Dare it again, I cancel it. Heaven will not fall. Even if heaven falls now, we will be happy that it was in our time heaven came down.
“I know you are not ready to do that rally. You are only looking for an excuse. But you must do it. I know you are going to import people, no problems, go and import. We have given you the stadium.”
On Rivers All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State blaming the crisis that greeted Thursday’s campaign by its governorship candidate, Tonye Cole in Port Harcourt, he said, “APC simply turned a victim to the brewing crisis between two factions in Rumuwoji community because they did not address their demands adequately.”
