Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has charged the
European Union to take appropriate punitive measures against Kaduna State
Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over his body bag comment.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the European Union
Ambassador to Nigeria, Ketil Karlson, at the Government House, Port Harcourt on
Thursday, Governor Wike said if El-Rufai escapes without sanctions , other
perpetrators of violence would be encouraged to promote hate speech.
"With what is happening now, is it likely for them to
hand over when they lose? The European Union should use El-Rufai as an example.
That statement is worse than hate speech. If El-Rufai gets away with this hate
speech, it will send the wrong signal. The President defended the hate speech
as the defence of national interest. That is not true " he said
He said beyond saying that the European Union will not be
deterred by the threats of the APC Governor, concrete steps should be taken to
wield the big stick against El-Rufai. He told the European Union Ambassador
that the threat by El-Rufai to kill foreign observers is part of a plot by the
ruling party to unleash mayhem on the opposition.
He said the opposition is not interested in violence during
the elections because they are ready for victory. According to him, the ruling
party is orchestrating violence because the signs of defeat are everywhere
"Those who will benefit from violence are the ones who
are not on ground. They stand to benefit from electoral violence", he
said.
