The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has congratulated the party’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), for defeating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last weekend’s presidential election. Rivers APC in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by the State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, described Buhari’s victory as expected and well deserved.

“Today, 31st March, 2015, will remain epochal and indelible in Nigeria’s history as it was the day on which Nigerians through their votes spoke with one voice against a clueless and misguided administration that would have completely grounded the country’s economy. With this change of guard, we wish to proclaim that the worst is over and it is a new dawn for our dear country, Nigeria,” Ikanya said in the statement.

He, on behalf of Rivers APC, thanked General Buhari “for making himself a tool for the emancipation and rebuilding of the country.” According to Rivers APC, “Buhari is a quintessential statesman with a proven record of integrity and performance. We urge him to hit the ground running as we have no time to waste in rebuilding our nation that has been badly bruised by the clueless administration of Dr. Jonathan. Nigerians expect so much from him and he should not condone any form of corruption, which is the hallmark of the PDP Administration that brought us to this sorry pass. We must improve on agriculture and use it as a tool for creating jobs for our teeming youths. Security and eradication of Boko Haram should also be top priorities.”

The party assured the President-elect that it would continue to support him and do everything humanly possible to make sure that his administration is golden and one of the best ever in the annals of Nigeria.

Paying tribute to others who made Buhari’s victory possible, Rivers APC said: “We congratulate and commend Gov. Chibuike Amaechi, the Lion of Niger Delta Politics, for showing us the light in APC and proving that he has a lot to offer Nigerian politics. Amaechi did a yeoman’s job as Director-General of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation. We are immensely proud of his sacrifices to ensure the emergence of General Buhari as part of his efforts to salvage our nation from doom. We urge him to continue to give his best to the nation as we continue to give him all the needed support to succeed.

“We equally congratulate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Senator Bola Saraki, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and our other great leaders for shaming our detractors and ensuring that we succeed in this project. We plead with them all to bury their differences and ensure that we give our best to this nation.”

Rivers APC extended its congratulations to Nigerians for a peaceful election and for believing in the change that APC preaches. It appealed to Nigerians to see the incoming APC Administration as their own and support it to give the nation the purposeful leadership it deserves.

On the conduct of the election, the party said: “By this election, INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega has proved that there is still a great future for this nation. We are grateful to him for not allowing some unpatriotic forces to force him to bring our democracy into disrepute. Yes, we had some lapses during the elections but we are convinced that with time we will get it right. We suffered immensely as a result of such lapses in the form of the daylight robbery that the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs. Gesila Khan, and PDP guber candidate, Chief Nyesome Wike, executed in Rivers State to rob our people of their mandate for our candidate, General Buhari. We still insist that apart from giving us a new date for the National Assembly elections, Mrs. Khan should be immediately sacked for being a disgrace to the image of INEC and of womanhood.”

Dr. Ikanya condemned the PDP’s disruption, through Ex-Minister Godsday Orubebe, of the collation of the presidential election results this morning in Abuja and commended Prof. Jega for the maturity he exhibited in handling the unwarranted act of provocation.

The party waned Rivers PDP guber candidate, Chief Nyesome Wike, to desist from his reported plan to mobilise some dreadful hoodlums from Delta and Bayelsa to join members of his Grassroot Development initiative (GDI) to unleash mayhem on chieftains and members of APC.

“We need to alert the world that Chief Nyesome Wike should be held responsible for any violence or death of any of our members. Chief Wike should be made to be mindful of ICC provisions,” the statement said.

Directly addressing the people of Rivers State, the State APC thanked them for believing in the party’s vision and appealed to them to remain calm as the party intensifies efforts to restore the mandate they gave to General Buhari and the party’s National Assembly candidates. Ikanya said: “As we wait for a new date for you to vote for your National Assembly candidates, let us not make the mistake of having a PDP Government in Rivers State that will be antagonistic to the centre and thereby deny us the development we desire in Rivers State. In this regard, we must ensure that Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the APC candidate, and all our State Assembly candidates are massively voted for during the April 11th polls so as to complete the rescue mission that we have started.”

•Photo shows Buhari, the man of the moment.