2019: Police Can't Guarantee Free and Fair Election - Wike

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezen­wo Wike has ex­pressed fears that the Nigeria Police has currently constituted cannot ensure free and fair elections in Ni­geria in 2019.
He particularly said that the Inspector-General of Po­lice (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Id­ris was not prepared to run the police in such a way that most Nigerians can see the security outfit as a neutral body.
Governor Wike assert­ed that the country cannot have free, fair and credible elections, if the Police re­fuse to change their opera­tional mentality.

The governor, who spoke on Tuesday at the Govern­ment House, Port Harcourt when he received the Rivers State Coordinator of the Na­tional Youth Service Corps (NYSC), berated the NYSC for failing to make public the abduction of corps members by the Police and security agencies during the Decem­ber 10, 2016 rerun elections in the state.
Wike said: “With the pre­sent Inspector-General of Police, we cannot have free and fair elections. The IGP believes that he can only re­tain his position if he rigs elections and helps to deliv­er a particular party.”
According to him, the people of Rivers have known the modus operandi of the Police and other security agencies, pointing out that the rigging that took place on December 10, 2016 as fa­cilitated by the Police would never happen again.
The governor regretted that the Nigeria Police have condescended to the abys­mal level of plotting black­mail schemes against Rivers State and her people.
He said the state had been peaceful since elec­tions were over, noting that the conflicts during elections were deliberately generated by the police to create an at­mosphere for rigging.
On the welfare of the NYSC, Governor Wike said that the state would con­struct a new secretariat for the organisation at Greater Port Harcourt and named it after the late corps member, Okonta Dumebi.
Wike directed the Secre­tary to the State Government (SSG) to liaise with the State Coordinator of the NYSC to work out an improved re­gime of allowances for corps members to be implemented by his administration.
He also announced the donation of a bus to NYSC Rivers State. He said that the administration will expand facilities at the NYSC Perma­nent Orientation at Tai Local Government Area.
Adewoye, who appreci­ated the governor’s support for the NYSC, described Wike as a performer, who has positively impacted on the activities of the agency in the state.