The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District re-run election, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has advised Ogoni youths to shun a meeting summoned by the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike.

Abe, who gave the advice in a statement issued today from his campaign office in Ogoni, noted: “The information available to me has also indicated that adequate funds have been provided for that purpose. I am also aware that the agenda of the meeting is to preach hate and incite the youths against APC leaders and their supporters, with the intention to foment trouble, in order to scare the general public to abstain from the venue of the elections.

“The essence is to ensure that areas that have massive support for APC do not vote, or return scanty votes. I, therefore, call on the youths to shun the meeting, despite the inducement. It is pertinent to state that the governor has not called a meeting of his Ikwerre youths, but chose to call our youths as sacrificial lamb.

“I appeal to our youths not to allow themselves to be used as willing tools in the hands of selfish politicians. I implore them to look back and think of what happened to us in history, where we lost our great men. We cannot allow history to repeat itself.”

Meanwhile, speaking during a rally at Bera in Gokana Local Government Area, Abe said that he has an antecedent of making peace among Ogoni people, adding that he has always been a peacemaker rather than a trouble maker.

His words: “I have worked for peace! And, may God forgive me, because I have promised people I will never brag about peace: it is only God who gives peace. But since these people want to talk about my character, I will talk about my character. When Kenneth Kobani was Commissioner for Finance: in Bodo, his hometown, over 50 people died. They were put into wells. Kobani was detained by SSS for over two weeks for his complicity in those acts. I was the one who went there to sympathise with the people. I brought peace.

“When people were dying in Sogho, Kaani, Kpong, and women could not go to their farms in Nyokhana, I was the one who went there to sympathise with the people. I also brought peace. Is that the life of somebody who will kill Ogoni people? This PDP people are liars and our people know that. They cannot determine the direction of the Ogoni people, because we know them. They are doing whatever they can to smear my name because they know my own is better than a lot of their own. Lee Maeba, Kenneth Kobani, Dum Dekor and Olaka Nwogu are my children. I am their (political) father. When they finish misbehaving, they will come to me and I will forgive them.”

In his speech, Federal Minister of Transport and former governor of Rivers State, Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, thanked Ogoni people for their support and massive turnout for the ward rally. “It shows you people are serious,” he said, urging the people to ignore those who had worked against the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report implementation.

“Like Magnus said, for six years, we were begging President Goodluck Jonathan to, please, deal with the issue of UNEP report. All those people who are now shouting UNEP report, UNEP report, is because they have heard that the President has released $1 billion. And, typical of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), they want to steal the money. This $1 billion dollars, they will not share the money. President Buhari is serious about anti-corruption. This $1 billion is naked wire. If you chop it, you will die. So, I’m not afraid of that. This $1 billion, that is going to go to you for UNEP purposes, will be discharged according to law. I am sure, they are regretting why they did not bring out the money to share earlier. They thought they will win so that they can share it this time. Now, they didn’t win and President Buhari will not allow the sharing. It will be used to clean up Ogoni.”

Amaechi also accused the PDP candidate in Rivers South-East senatorial candidate, Mr Olaka Nwogu, of diverting funds meant for the construction of roads in Ogoniland.

“Olaka Nwogu was given contract to do road from Eleme to Oyigbo, passing through Tai, for almost N17 billion. You know that we are now in charge of NDDC. So, we have the records. If he denies it, I will bring out the record. It’s from the Ministry of Niger Delta. And that money is gone. Olaka, I don’t know how he got his hotel. But, I know he has a hotel. So, if you vote for Olaka, there will be more hotels and there will be no road. If you don’t want them to continue to build more hotels, please, vote APC,” he said.

He assured the people of adequate security during the rerun polls and appealed to them to come out en masse on Saturday 19th March and cast their votes for APC, which he predicted would sweep the polls.

“Rivers South-East Senatorial District is in our pocket. On Sunday, we shall be eating in Magnus’ house as a senator,” he said.

•Photo shows Senator Magnus Abe.