Rivers State government has withdrawn the approval for the use of the Adokiye Amesieamaka Stadium, Igwurita-Ali, Port Harcourt by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The state government had approved the use of the stadium for the February 11, 2013, campaign rally of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council.
But, the commissioner for sports, in a letter addressed to the director-general of the campaign council and governor of Sokoto State Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, accused Atiku of plotting to hold a joint campaign at the venue with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The letter was dated January 31, 2023 and signed by the commissioner for sports, Barrister Christopher Green.
It reads in part: "Credible intelligence available to the government of Rivers State and recent developments now show that your presidential campaign organisation is working in collaboration and in cohorts with a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State led by Tonye Patrick Cole and that it is the intention of your Presidential Campaign Organization to accomplish and share the approved facility for your with the said faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC)."
Governor Nyesom Wike had while speaking during a PDP governorship campaign rally, accused the national leadership of the party of anti-party activities.
The governor said, "We have caught them. They are the ones engaged in anti-party. I told them anti-party begets anti party. You know we carried these small parties (APC, SDP) to court for failing to do what the law says.
"The people in Abuja that say they are national have gone to collude with them (opposition parties) to write our lawyers a letter that they should take their hands off, in order to kill the cases we filed. I have told our lawyers to withdraw from the matters. I will hit them back by tomorrow.
"Nobody hurts us without sustaining a scar. Anybody who dares to touch us in Rivers State, I will inflict many scars on him and we have started it. We are voting for our people here. Now you have told us you are doing anti-party. We will show you what anti party is. Already, we have caught them red-handed."
