The Rivers state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the federal government to take a decisive stance against Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 elections.
The party said Sowore’s recent comments against President Bola Tinubu and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), were “vituperations” meant to undermine the integrity of the country.
Chairman of APC in Rivers, Chief Tony Okocha, said in a statement on Wednesday that spreading falsehood with the intention to defame others is unacceptable.
Okocha accused Sowore of attempting to incite Nigerians against the government.
His words: “Attempting to incite Nigerians against the government with the crudity of style is treasonable felony.
“Any action capable of undermining public trust and potent enough to threaten Nigeria’s democracy, stemming from malice, is unacceptable.”
The Rivers APC chairman said Sowore has built his career on “deliberate lies, propaganda, and defamation disguised as activism”.
“This is exactly what Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, has perfected over the years,” he said.
“His platform is notorious for publishing fabricated stories and half-truths, often used as tools for blackmail and extortion.
“These baseless allegations are nothing more than the bitter rantings of a man rejected at the polls and drowning in political irrelevance,” he stated.
Okocha recalled that Sowore had been charged with forgery, false publication, and cybercrime in the past.
“A man standing trial for such grave offences ought to rein in himself and consider himself as lacking in moral imperative to insult credible leaders who are working extremely hard to build the nation,” he added.
He also referenced Sowore’s #RevolutionNow campaign in 2019, describing it as an “attempted insurrection”.
“No genuine democrat calls for the violent overthrow of a legitimate government. Sowore’s actions then, and his continued incitement now, prove that he is more of an anarchist and a psychopath than a patriot,” he said.
Okocha urged Nigerians to focus on the achievements of the Tinubu administration and Wike’s stewardship at the FCT.
“President Tinubu is implementing his 10-point ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’. The economy is booming. Never in the history of Nigeria had over a trillion naira been shared by the three tiers of government.
“Road infrastructure is verifiable. The trillion-naira Lagos-Calabar expressway, which pundits like Sowore dismissed as an impossibility, is on the fast track. The blind can see it,” he added.
