A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, is deeply worried by the crisis arising from the military’s attempt to arrest Solomon Ndigbara, at Yeghe community in Gokana Local Government Area of the state, which culminated in the burning down of his Senatorial Liaison Office in Bori, Khana Local Government Area, by hoodlums.

In a media release, which he issued from Port Harcourt on Thursday, Abe said: “As leaders, we should be sincere to ourselves and show good examples to our followers. To my people, the Ogoni, we should eschew violence and lawlessness and ensure that we maintain peace.

We should not play politics with the incident because the victims of the crisis could have been people from any of the political parties and religion.”

On some of the actions taken by the state governor, he noted: “I am happy that Governor Nyesome Wike, as the Chief Security Officer, knew and approved the military operations in Yeghe, Ogoniland. However, it is unfortunate that the governor visited the home of ex-militant leader, Solomon Ndigbara in Yeghe, but did not deem it fit to visit my burnt senatorial liaison office building at Bori, which is less than two kilometres away from Yeghe. There is nothing wrong if he, as the chief security officer, after appraising the situation in Ogoni approves that the military should raid the area of criminal elements and, maybe, recover arms; but the person who stands to be blamed squarely for the crisis is Solomon Ndigbara and his group, who chose to engage the military in a shootout.”

The senator regretted that information available to him points to the fact that there was a deliberate attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to incite the people against his person and the All Progressives Congress.

“PDP knows pretty well that we are innocent, but in their desperate attempt to exploit the situation for political gain, they want to hang it on us. It is sad that this type of politics is being played by people who hold responsible positions. The sad reality of the destruction of my liaison office shows that all is not well. I, therefore, reiterate the call for my supporters to remain calm in the face of provocation.”

•Photo shows Senator Magnus Abe.

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