Explosion Rocks Rivers APC Secretariat As LG Poll Holds

An explosion thought to be dynamite ripped through the All Progressives Congress secretariat on Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State’s capital, today, October 5, shattering some windows, gates, and other elements of the facility.

Speaking with Channels TV’s correspondent, Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the APC group in Rivers State, described what transpired.

“About 3:20am some gun-trotting young men with their explosives and all that, came here and dropped the first explosive, maybe because the one they dropped here did not detonate, they came back the second time to burn the structure – look at the security house is gone. Behind me you will see that there was also an attempt, our people came and we were able to quench the fire,” Okocha said.

He said that the incident was politically motivated and blamed the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for declaring war over the local government election.

“Is the APC secretariat here any voting unit? There is no voting unit here. So, it was deliberate to see how they can annihilate us, it is deliberate to see how they can embarrass us, it is deliberate to see how they can decimate us,” Okocha said.

The police have yet to comment on the event.

Amid controversy surrounding the Rivers local government election, accreditation and voting have begun in numerous polling stations in Port Harcourt. Police officials in the state had stated that they would not provide security for the exercise, citing a court order.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we emphasize unequivocally that the 5th October 2024 Local Government Council Elections in Rivers State will be held as scheduled, and there is no going back,” RSIEC said in a statement by its Commissioner for Civil Education/Public Affairs Tobin Tamunotonye.

According to the RSIEC LAW of 2018, the judgment of Hon Justice I.P.C. Igwe of the High Court of Rivers State issued on September 4, 2024, and the 1999 Constitution, the agency is authorized to conduct local government elections in the state.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli