The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State has thrown its weight behind the current probe of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mrs Gesila Khan, by the Department of State Security, DSS.
The party in a statement by the state Chairman, Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, berated the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for seeking to stop the DSS from carrying out its constitutional duties because of its well-known dalliance with Mrs Khan.
“By petitioning the DSS over the probe of Mrs Gesila Khan, the PDP Reps have publicly exposed the unholy alliance between their party and REC Khan, of which we have been crying even before the March 28 and April 11 elections, in which she brazenly took sides with PDP and worked overzealously to return the party’s candidates for all the positions so as to justify the huge sums of money she collected from the then ruling party and please her relation, the then president Goodluck Jonathan,” Rivers APC said.
The party in the statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt pointed out that if for nothing, Khan should explain the source of the sum of N700m reportedly found in her account, which some people claimed must be given to her be the former president, Goodluck Jonathan and the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.
The party further stated that under the new dispensation, the law is not a respecter of individuals, stressing that Mrs Khan and some of her key staff invited for questioning by the DSS are not above the law.
“If they are sure of the results of the elections in Rivers State, all they need to do is to report to the DSS and prove their innocence,” Rivers APC said.
It lambasted the Rivers Federal lawmakers, saying: “The petitioners here are beneficiaries of the alleged crime perpetrated by REC Khan and her INEC collaborators, so they have no moral justification to protest. Since when did the Reps become defenders of INEC officials?”
According to Rivers APC, “If Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), former National Security Adviser, former ADC to one-time Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), a scion of the royal caliphate in Sokoto, can be investigated by the DSS, then why the cry over the move to investigate Mrs Khan and her collaborators? Are they bigger than Gordon Obuah, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Chief Security Officer, who is also being investigated by the DSS despite being a senior DSS official and still in service?”
The party advised PDP to come to terms with the fact that it is a new dawn in Nigeria and that everyone should be prepared at all times to defend his or her stewardship.
“Power has changed hands for good and no one is a sacred cow. Even President Buhari has made it clear that no one shall escape justice,” Rivers APC stated.