Explosions rock South-South APC rally

Following the twin explosions that shook the Rumu-Woji venue in the Mile One neighborhood of Port Harcourt on Thursday, the All Progressives Congress event in Rivers State was postponed.

Similar event hosted by the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State ended in chaos when unidentified men opened fire on the campaign grounds.

The campaign event was peacefully proceeding in ward seven of the Edo Central Local Government Area when the sounds of gunshots fired by alleged political thugs suddenly filled the air, causing the party supporters to flee in terror.The police have, however, launched investigations into the two incidents in which several persons were injured.

News media gathered that the Rivers State APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole and the other candidates vying for various positions were present at the Rumu-Woji rally when the blast occurred.

Eyewitnesses said the explosions were preceded by shootings at about 1:20pm.

Three persons, including two women were injured in the ensuing chaos.

Earlier, the gate leading to the venue popularly known as Ojukwu Field was locked against the party members and supporters by  youths of the area.

The gate was subsequently opened when the party chieftains, including former APC acting National Chairman, Chief Victor Giadom, and their supporters arrived at the venue.

Our correspondent also gathered that the angry youths who locked the gate accused some community members of embezzling the money the APC paid for the venue.

But some APC supporters accused the PDP in the state of allegedly masterminding the incident.

An eyewitness said, “We were all here waiting for the campaign to begin. Next thing, we saw some people throwing dynamites into this place and people started running away. That was how I got this injury on my leg. But thank God, the police came and we continued the campaign.”

Speaking at the rally, Giadom condemned the incident which he blamed on suspected political thugs.

He urged the party members and supporters to remain resolute despite the threats, saying the bullets fired could not scare the APC from winning the elections in the state.

“Why were they shooting? They were shooting because they don’t want us to campaign. They should go and buy more bullets. Tell them the bullets that they fired today are too small to scare us from winning,” he stated.