December 23, (THEWILL) – The Rivers State campaign office of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been sealed off.
A statement by Rivers State PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), said the action was based on the orders of the State Government.
The office, which is located in GRA Port Harcourt, was sealed off in the early hours of Friday.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had recently signed Executive Order 22, which prohibits the citing of campaign offices by political parties in residential areas without government approval.
But, the media team of the PDP PCC, Rivers State, said it had applied for approval from the State Government but has not received any feedback for several weeks.
The group, therefore, condemned the “act because it rubs off on our fundamental right to free expression of interest.”
It described the seal on the office as anti-democratic and a violation of free expression.
“The public is hereby informed that the sealed premises had no billboard or poster, since the approval had not been given, yet it was sealed off, a sign that the delay in the approval is premeditated and computed to cause this sort of unlawfulness.
“We condemn this act because it rubs off on our fundamental right to free expression of interest. Furthermore, this egregious move by the Rivers State Government, seen in the prism of politics, tends to militarise our democracy and renders our dear state politically recessive when juxtaposed with other states in the country.
“We urge our dear leaders in the state to challenge this illegality in a court of competent jurisdiction so that friction can disappear from our political space.
“The right to campaign for a preferred candidate is enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria, which is the grand norm from which every other law derives its power.
“Thus, every clash between the Constitution and any other made law should be resolved in favour of the Constitution. The Rivers State Government, we dare say, is subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended).
“It is our duty to remind Gov. Wike and his co-travellers that they, like everyone else, are subject to the laws of Nigeria.
“Meanwhile, we charge the Rivers State PDP PCC, our dear leaders, to see to it that this unlawful disruption of campaign activities does not rattle their cage. They must continue to function as they always had prior to the existence of the Secretariat.
“Tyranny will expire in our state. If the Nazi Regime could die in Germany, then this facsimile of such will die even much faster to the glory of God and liberty of Rivers State,” it added.
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