Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, condemned the protest embarked upon by members of MASSOB which crippled activities in Port Hardcourt on Tuesday saying that his administration will not tolerate a repeat of the protest by members of any group within the state.
The protesters had marched through Ikoku, Ikwerre and some major roads in the state capital causing disruption within the state.
According to Punch.. Gov. Wike, who spoke through a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, said he was annoyed by the protest.
“The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has warned against insidious actions by anybody or group in the state.
“The governor, who was peeved by the protest by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra in Port Harcourt, warned that such a demonstration will not be brooked by his administration.
“Emphasising the indivisibility of Nigeria, the governor said the actions of IPOB members are capable of stimulating chaos in the state,” the statement read.
Wike warned that as the Chief Security Officer of the state who swore to an oath to protect lives and property, he would not tolerate actions that would lead to the breakdown of law and order in the state and dissociated himself and the state from the protest.
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, also dissociated his government from the reported violent protests in Rivers, Anambra, and Delta states by MASSOB and IPOB members, on Tuesday.
In a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, Okorocha said that violent protests in the name of Biafra would not add any value to the development of the South-East.
He said:
“The governors and leaders of the South-East condemn the protests, especially when they were carried out in the name of Biafra. If a section of the people in the South-East or even the whole people in the geopolitical zone protest over the bad shape of the federal roads in the area or protest over the total negligence of the geopolitical zone, every governor and leader in the area would support that but not to protest over an issue that is neither here nor there.”
“The South-East is an integral part of Nigeria and the governors and leaders from the area believe in the unity of the country and would always work towards sustaining the unity. And as far as the governors and the leaders of the South-East are concerned, those behind the campaign for Biafra have their ulterior motive, which has nothing to do with corporate interest of the Ndigbo in Nigeria.”
Okorocha called on those behind the protests to give peace a chance.