Governor Wike Writes Haters Of Peace In Rivers State.

Gov. Wike, CON

According to the media aid to Governor Wike,CON, Simeon Nwakaudu, the Governor of Rivers State has done much and is expected of any normal Rivers person to keep aside politics and interest so that the peace move of the government can be sustained in the state.He said peace and security is every man's concerned and wonder why some people will play politic with such a demanding factor in the fabric of societal development.

There is no denying the fact that the peace building measures of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike have been successful as several security challenges that are plaguing the state have been addressed.

The peace building initiatives of the governor ensured that the conflicts in four local government areas were tackled and relative peace restored to the respective communities.

Governor Wike started the process at Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) where he met with different stakeholders to set in motion the process of sustainable peace across the state.

From the Orashi region, the governor's efforts spread across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state. The result is the relative peace the people of the state are enjoying, with their businesses flourishing. There is a Senior Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, with the brief to work with stakeholders to improve peace in the state.

As a result of the successes recorded so far,
reporters paid by opposition politicians to spread false propaganda about the security situation in Rivers State had a difficult time as they did not have communities where they could concoct negative reports.

The unfortunate murder of human rights lawyer, Barrister Ken Atsuwete has again given the Rivers APC and their sponsored media associates the leeway to concoct reports and circulate same. It must be recalled that the Rivers State Government through the State Information Commissioner, Dr Austin Tam-George has condemned the murder of Barrister Ken Atsuwete, with the declaration that the government will support the relevant security agencies to fish out the killers.

Two newspapers on Wednesday started the renewed media violence on the psyche of the Rivers people and the entire country as they commenced the publication of concocted reports devoid of facts. The two newspapers, Vanguard and The Nation of Wednesday, August 31, 2016 published reports on their front pages with the false claim that the peace initiative of the governor, exemplified by the ongoing amnesty programme for repentant cultists has failed. Nothing could be further from the truth.

A close analysis of the two reports of an event that supposedly took place in Ogbakiri, Emohua Local Government Area shows that it was a contrived report handed over to the two reporters, mainly to impugn the success of the security measures of the Rivers State Governor.

All through the report, no verified community leader was quoted and no police personnel was quoted. The reporters simply quoted one "Mr Nyema " whom they described as "as a community source". All the paragraphs in the report are the same, except that the two hatchet men simply paraphrased in some instances.

This is a paragraph in "The Nation: 'It was gathered that the trouble started on Sunday when the paramount ruler of the community summoned Icelanders and Deygbam ' Vanguard wrote: "It was learned that the killing started on Sunday when the ruler of the community called both cult groups for a peace talk"

In another paragraph , The Nation wrote: "The Rivers State Police Command was yet to speak on the incident last night" . Vanguard version was "Meanwhile, Rivers State Police Command has not reacted on the incident".

It is disheartening that reporters working for National Newspapers will allow themselves to be used to spread negative propaganda against an entire State. It is even worse that they are being used to discredit a largely successful amnesty programme for repentant cultists, which is a work in progress.

Even the amnesty programme of the Federal Government is still being repositioned. Therefore, it is uncharitable for anyone to attempt to pull down the amnesty programme of the Rivers State Government using media propaganda .

It is no longer fashionable to concoct reports with the use of unnamed community sources.

These reports are being sponsored by the opposition in Rivers State because of the several high profile conferences and conventions that have taken place in Rivers State. The opposition realising that close to two hundred thousand professionals have attended the events in Rivers State in the last six weeks and they now know the peaceful nature of the state have resolved to restart their sponsorship of negative reports.

Peace building is not a stroll in the park. It is a serious state business that involves different stakeholders, hence it is bound to have challenges intermittently. But, the reality remains that appreciable progress has been made in Rivers State in terms of peace building with the successes recorded by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike .

We lose a bit of our humanity each time some misguided fellows attempt to take advantage of an unfortunate situation to gain political mileage. This renewed media onslaught on the Rivers people is regrettable.

Governor Wike has invested massively in the security of the state. The people are getting value for his investments. The governor in the last 14 months facilitated the release of over 140 patrol vans to security agencies, rehabilitated over 20 armoured personnel carriers and funded the operational logistics of all the security agencies in the state. He has also instituted an insurance fund for the families of slain security personnel while promoting the welfare of living security officials.

Most importantly, he has participated in key security operations especially the demolition of the Criminal hideouts of cultists in the state. The governor's commitment to the security of the state is unequalled.

Simeon Nwakaudu,
Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor,
Electronic Media.
31st August, 2016.