THISDAY

Rivers Indigenes Write Tinubu, Allege Plot to Assassinat­e Edison Ehie

- Wale Igbintade

The Ekpeye-speaking people of Rivers State have raised the alarm over an alleged plot to kill one of their sons, who is the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Hon. Edison Ehie, using the instrument­s of government.

In an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, the Ekpeye-speaking people called on the president to prevail on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and the Inspector General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun, to drop all the “trumped-up charges” filed against Ehie, and others, saying that “the matter is purely a case of victimisat­ion and oppression”.

The letter was signed by 33 sons and daughters of Ekpeye-speaking people of Rivers State, which includes; Dr. Nname Robinson, Vice Chairman, Rivers West Senatorial District PDP and former Deputy Leader, Rivers State House of Assembly; Dr Chigbo Sam, former member, Rivers State House of Assembly, Ahoada West Constituen­cy; Dr. Kennedy Ebeku, former member, Rivers State House of Assembly, Ahoada East Constituen­cy 2; Hon Nwanaka Okpokori, former member, River State House of Assembly Ahoada West Constituen­cy 3; Mrs Beatrice Awala, former member, Rivers State House of Assembly Ahoada East Constituen­cy.

Others are Hon Chibudo Ezu, former member, of Rivers State House of Assembly Aboada East 1 Constituen­cy; Chief Steven Ihua, former Chairman, of Ahoada East LG Council; Dr. Reason Onya, former Commission­er of Ministry of Urban Developmen­t and Physical Planning; and Mr. Samuel Eyiba, former Commission­er for Local Government Affairs, among others.

They stated that Ehie played a pivotal role in the formative stage of the Grass Root Developmen­t Initiative (GDI), the political pressure group that ushered in Wike as governor of Rivers State in 2015, and also served as its National Youth Leader from inception to date.

The letter added that Ehie was a very close and dependable ally of Wike, which earned him an award of excellence by the former governor, as Distinguis­hed Service Star of Rivers State (DSSRS).

They added that the former governor equally awarded an 11-kilometre road contract worth over N8 billion from Obodi to the Ozochi community, the hometown of Ehie with an over 200-metre bridge.

According to them, Ehie helped mobilise the youths of Rivers State for Wike through the One-MillionYou­th -March and also aggressive­ly campaigned for the election of the president.

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