The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has declared that Heaven and Nigerians would never honour members of the Armed Forces engaged in the snatching of ballot boxes and rigging of elections.
\nSpeaking during an inter-denominational church service marking the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at the Saint Peter\u2019s Anglican Church, Rumuepirikom, yesterday, Wike urged them to be professional and apolitical.
\nThe governor said: \u201cWe are not honouring those who are unprofessional and carry ballot boxes to influence the electoral process.
\n\u201cI urge members of the Armed Forces to choose the right path in the interest of the country. It is unfortunate that the military has lost its integrity because of some unprofessional personnel. Nobody is afraid of the military because of their unprofessional conduct.
\n\u201cThose who come to rig election or kill Rivers people, Heaven will never remember them.\u201d
\nWike said that he has been vindicated by the admission by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman that security agencies were responsible for the electoral malpractices that marred the last general election.
\nHe said: \u201cI thank God that the chairman of INEC has owned up that the problem with elections is the security agencies. This confirms all I have said in the past.\u201d
\nThe governor, however, praised the Armed Forces for the roles they have played in preserving the unity of the country.
\n\u201cBut for them, kidnappers, cultists, insurgents and armed robbers would have taken over the country \u201c, he added.
\nWike called for the institution of a reward system to encourage soldiers to put in their best for the country.
\nIn a sermon, Ven Samuel Chimele called on soldiers to be professional in the discharge of their duties to the nation.
\nHe said: \u201cAs we remember our fallen heroes, be professional. There are temptations to the military to be unprofessional, but strive to be professional.\u201d
\nHe said that soldiers who engage in unprofessional acts would go unrecognised in the long run, even when they enjoy earthly promotion.
\nThe cleric said that the military have no business attempting to enthrone different levels of leadership in the country, and advised them to focus on providing security and defending the nation\u2019s territorial integrity.
\nIn the sermon titled: \u201cFaithfulness in Service: The Hallmark of a True Soldier\u201d, Ven Samuel Chimele warned soldiers against the ruthless use of power against the national interest.
\nPrayers were said for the fallen heroes and God\u2019s blessing upon their families.
\nPrayers were also said for the government and people of Rivers State, the Federal Government and the Armed Forces.
\nThe international service marking the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration witnessed praise and worship, with offering to support the Nigerian Legion.
\nEarlier, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike had said that his administration remains committed to working with members of the Armed Forces to promote the security of lives and property in the state.
\nRepresented by his Special Adviser, Mohamed Aribitonye Okiri during a Jumaat Service to mark the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Port Harcourt, last Friday, Wike commended the Armed Forces for their contributions to national unity and security.
\nHe assured that he would continue to invest in security, because security promotes development and inflow of investments.
\nWike urged the security agencies to partner with his administration for the sustenance of peace across the state.
\nThe governor added that the Rivers State Government would continue to support ex-servicemen and the families of war heroes who paid the supreme price defending the country.
\nIn his remarks, the Sole Administrator, Rivers State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, Abdulrazaq Cline Diepriye, thanked the Rivers State governor for his commitment to peace and the development of Rivers State.
\nIn a message, the Deputy Chief Imam of Rivers State Central Mosque, Soliu Sai\u2019d Olowo Okere, commended members of the Armed Forces for courageously fighting insurgents.
\nWhile praising the military for their role in preserving the unity of Nigeria, he said that the fight against insurgency was in line with the will of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has declared that Heaven and Nigerians would never honour members of the Armed Forces engaged in the snatching of ballot boxes and rigging of elections. Speaking during an inter-denominational church service marking the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at the Saint Peter\u2019s Anglican Church, Rumuepirikom, yesterday, Wike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":224400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,26],"tags":[688],"class_list":["post-224391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-front-pix","tag-front-pix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=224391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/224400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=224391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=224391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=224391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}