LG Polls: NGO Preaches Peace, Non-Violence

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Rivers Angels for Peace (RAP) has appealed to all political parties, political gladiators and agencies relevant in the forthcoming elections in Rivers State to view non violence and peaceful development of the State as the overriding factor in all their calculations.
RAP President, Ibudeinte Igonikon, who addressed journalists after the organisation’s meeting last Saturday in Port Harcourt expressed concern over the display of violence in the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and urged politicians to improve on the existing peace.
Igonikon stated that election violence in the past had claimed the lives of alot of promising youths and stressed the need to retrace all steps that could lead to reoccurrences of the ugly past.
She said: “Our hearts bleed for the unavoidable deaths of our loved brothers and sisters who were consumed in election violence and we stand to beg that all stakeholders in elections should please put a stop to this.
“God has blessed our state with enviable potentials, most of our blessings had been stolen away by the enemies of our state and the best way to go is for us to work together irrespective of our different parties to harness these potentials to take our beloved state to where it ought to be”
She commended Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike for cancelling some primaries and also disqualifying some aspirants who were involved in violence during the PDP primaries and urged other political parties to emulate the Governor’s exemplary steps.
The RAP boss called on all women groups across the State, churches and well-meaning individuals and bodies to include peace campaign in their prorgrammes during the forthcoming elections.
She revealed that about 13 members of the organization were suspended for not showing evidence of PVC ownership, stressing that all eligible voters must acquire their PVCs that would qualify them to vote in the election.
“Most times we discover that many people making loud noise about elections do not even weild PVC or do not know where they have kept them. I wonder how they can participate wisely”, she said.
Igonikon described democracy as the best form of government but regretted that enemies of the system cause a lot of havoc in the process.
She called on sons and daughters of the State to use their positions to attract development to their State and not to de-market potentials of the State for their selfish interest.

Chris Oluoh