The explosion brought down the gate of the secretariat while doors, windows and other property were destroyed.

This is the second time the Chief Tony Okocha-led APC would be experiencing such an attack at its secretariat this year.

This came as the local government elections is set to hold in the state today as the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission said on Friday that all sensitive materials have been distributed to the various local government areas.

A viral video of the incident scene seen by our correspondent showed some workers at the facilities going round to ascertain the extent of damage.

When contacted, the spokespetson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she had yet to get a report on it but promised to revert.

The party has yet to make a statement on the incident.

Osadolor, who gave the hint in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, noted that the leadership of the party had decided to isolate Wike and render him inconsequential in the affairs of the PDP.

According to him, Wike’s recent public outings wherein he appeared to be leaning towards the All Progressives Congress, give him away as a man in perpetual craving for the spotlight at all times and regardless of the cost to his image as an opposition political leader.

He said, “The PDP has ignored Wike because the man is no longer himself. There are more ways to deal with people apart from sanctioning them. You can keep someone in isolation. He (Wike) can boast that he is the one that stayed away but is it not better to stay away than come to party activities and nobody wants to associate with you? He has been given a cold treatment because he went to court to procure a judgment that says he cannot be suspended but there is no judgment that says he cannot be avoided. That is what the PDP has been doing to him and technically, if Wike wants to say the truth, he will tell you that he is no longer a member of the PDP. No PDP leader or member behaves the way he does.”

But in a swift reaction, a chieftain of the PDP and immediate past Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, said Wike remained a bona fide member of the opposition party.

Describing Osadolor’s comments as wishful thinking, Finebone said he does not have any power to speak for the party.

He stated, “We can’t identify who he represents, but I think it is wishful thinking. It is wishful thinking and the man who is said to have said that is inconsequential as far as we are concerned.

“And so, whatever he has said is of no effect. His Excellency, the former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, is 110 per cent a member of PDP and nothing has changed. And nothing can change it.”

On the accusation that Wike has been hobnobbing with Tinubu, he said it was petty and frivolous.

The incident, which occurred around 8:40pm, led to the destruction of some equipment and property in the facility which houses the two media outfit owned by a member of the House of Representatives, Chinyere Igwe.

Igwe is also an ardent supporter of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.

When contacted on Wednesday morning, Igwe confirmed the incident, saying, “What I am happy about is that no life was lost.”

However, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she had yet to get the report of the incident, but promised to find out from the Divisional Police Officer and give our reporter a feedback.

Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, had yet to revert to our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.

The Chairman, PDP PCC in Rivers State, Senator Lee Maeba, gave the explanation during a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Maeba recalled that there had been several attacks against PDP members and Atiku’s supporters in the last three months in the state.

He also claimed that the Rivers State Government had sealed the businesses of prominent members of the party who supported the presidential candidate’s election bid.

He said, “On December 14, 2022, one Rhino Owhohaire, the Youth Director, Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council, was shot in his village of Alu in the Ikwerre Local Government Area, and the incident was reported to the police high command, but nothing happened.

“Even when a suspect was arrested, the government of Rivers State, as an interested accomplice, went and took him on bail.

“On February 5, 2023, 31 members of the Atiku Support Group were arrested at their meeting venue at the GRA, Port Harcourt, arraigned and remanded at the correctional centre in Port Harcourt on trumped-up charges of unlawful assembly, conspiracy, and cultism.

On February 9, 2023, Abiye Sekibo was informed that the venue earmarked for the PDP presidential campaign rally was on fire at Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt.

“He (Sekibo) was attacked when he went to verify the accuracy of the information. The attack was carried out by the police attached to the Government House in Port Harcourt.

“Fortunately, he escaped unhurt by the divine providence of God, but his vehicle was fatally damaged by a rain of bullets.”

He said despite previously giving the PDP an approval to use Adokiye Amesiamaka Stadium for its presidential rally, Governor Nyesom Wike “cancelled the approval on the flimsy excuse that we wanted to hold a joint rally with APC in Rivers State on the approved date of February 11, 2023, to foment trouble.”

Maeba added, “The governor, using Government House police and other hoodlums, has unleashed unrelenting violence, making the peaceful use of the facility impossible, among other things.

“In light of the above submission, we, the state Campaign Council, in total constructive engagement with the National Presidential Campaign Council, the candidate, and the party, believe that no loss of human life can be tolerated or accepted before, during, or after the rally and have agreed with our principals on the need to shelve and/or cancel the rally to avoid any deaths.”

Confirming the discovery, the Executive Director, Youth and Environmental Advocacy Centre, Fyneface Dumnamene, said the tap was discovered by youths working as pipeline surveillance contractors.

Speaking at the site during an observation tour of the discovery site along with other stakeholders, Dumnamene revealed that the tap point is capable of loading two tankers of 33,000 liters.

“Sometime last week I was invited as an environmentalist to come and observe what was discovered. In fact, the people that discovered this point and from what they told me are the youths who are working as pipeline surveillance contractors in the area.

They had to involve the local government Chairman who led the team to the Trans-Niger Delta pipeline in Nonwa Uedume in Tai LGA and getting there we saw that the criminals actually connected the pipe that is about 1.5 millimeters to the main pipeline (Trans Niger-Delta pipeline) and the pipe was laid out to about some kilometers away from the point where it helps them to load at least two of 33,000 liters of tanker every night. And the pipe is said to have been there for over seven years.

“And then looking at the environment as I was called to observe, I could see pollution around the area but not as much as oil extraction,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.

Dumnamene disclosed that Shell was at the site for observation and it is taking steps to remove the tapping on the pipe to forestall further damage.

Our correspondent who visited the scene gathered that the fire which started at about 8:30 am was caused by a kerosene explosion.

Some of the affected residents have traveled for the festivities, while others were out for work when the fire started.

An official of the Federal Fire Service, John Nnemeka, told our correspondent that they arrived early but were unable to access the scene because of the nature of the houses.

Saying that he is in a privileged position to know better, the governor promised to reveal the identities of the concerned persons at the appropriate time so that Nigerians can use their votes to reject them.

According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, the governor spoke at the commencement of the construction of internal roads at Rumuesara, Eneka town in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The statement read, “Some other people are busy, putting themselves together on how they will take over leadership in Nigeria to loot the remaining ones these other people have already kept.

“I’m privileged to know and, at the appropriate time, I will tell you who these people are. You need to know what is happening in Nigeria.

“Forget about all these people running around saying they want to rescue or save you (Nigeria). Just watch to see what is going to happen next. All of us should be calm concerning what is happening in the PDP. In fact, nothing has happened yet. But by the grace of God, something will happen.”

He pointed out that while his administration continues to begin construction and inaugurate projects for the people of the state, detractors keep sponsoring negative media campaigns against him.

The governor stated that despite such negative media comments, his administration has not relented in offering good governance to strengthen the relationship with the people of Rivers State.

“Look at us concentrating on giving our people good governance. What is good governance? Good governance is making the people to be happy. Good governance is providing infrastructure for the people. Good governance is not about party. Providing good governance is about leadership. We are here every day flagging off projects, commissioning projects even though our tenure is coming to an end,” he said.

Wike noted how difficult it will be for seasonal politicians who have never done anything to better the lot of Rivers electorate to come to them and solicit their votes.

The governors include Kayode Fayemi; Rotimi Akeredolu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Ekiti, Ondo, and Lagos States respectively.

Others in their entourage include the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Biodun Oyebanji; former Ekiti State governor and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Ayodele Fayose, among others.

It was learnt that Wike, who lost the PDP presidential ticket to Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is meeting with the APC chieftains and others at his country home in the Port Harcourt area of the state.

As of the time of this report, the purpose of the visit by APC governors and the subsequent meeting with their host is unknown.

But it appears the APC governors may want to bank on the recent fallout of Wike with PDP leadership after the main opposition party’s presidential primary to woo the Rivers governor to their side ahead of the 2023 presidential election

This is as he also alleged that those seeking a consensus PDP presidential candidate are not “sincere”, adding that he was ready to support whoever emerges as the presidential flagbearer of the party.

Wike stated this in Minna, Niger State, on Saturday, when he visited PDP delegates ahead of the main opposition party’s presidential primary.

He said that he will agree to consensus if it is based on equity, justice, and fairness.

The presidential aspirant added that he has been a member of the party since 1998 and that he has never left the party despite its turbulent season.

“I will agree on consensus if it is based on equity, justice, and fairness because as it is, those who are talking about consensus are not sincere and there is nothing like consensus in our constitution.

“Whoever emerges as the flagbearer, I will do whatever I can to ensure that the PDP wins the election”, he said.

Meanwhile, the governor faulted the state pardon granted to two former Governors convicted for corruption by President Buhari

While describing the pardon as a “disservice to the judiciary”, Wike said the Buhari regime’s anti-corruption war was selective.

I want to tell you that this government is very deceptive and they have deceived us enough. You have big people, you jail them after all the court proceedings and waste of money then you ridicule the judiciary and by granting them pardon,” He said.

He wondered how the international community is expected to have respect for a president that takes its judicial system for a joke.

“How will the international community look at us with these type of things we do. Look at the amount spent in the prosecutions and you wake up one morning and mess it up all because of politics”.

Wike also stated that the state pardon granted to former Governors of Plateau, Joshua Dariye, and his Taraba State counterpart, Jolly Nyame, is strategically done towards the forthcoming general election.

“He obviously wants them to help him during the elections, he wasn’t Dariye to help with Plateau while Nyame will work for Taraba. If it is not for election purpose, why did he not grant pardon to the likes of James Ibori and Atuche?

The state’s Ministry of Health also disclosed that 12,500 persons had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and treated in the last two years.

The state government said its target was to end the disease by 2030, calling for more efforts to achieve this.

The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Ndidi Utchay, stated this in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, at an event to mark the 2022 World Tuberculosis Day, tagged: ‘Invest to End TB, Save Lives’.

Utchay bemoaned that over 9,000 persons living with the ailment were still missing in the rural communities of the state, adding that 12,500 infected persons were treated between 2020 and this year.

The permanent secretary noted that in 2021, over 800 persons were diagnosed and treated, but regretted that over 9,000 persons living with the sickness were still missing.

She hinted that the most affected people were youths in the productive age range.

Utchay stated, “In the last two years, we diagnosed and treated over 12,500 persons affected with tuberculosis in the state. The year 2021 was quite eventful, with over 8,000 persons diagnosed and treated.Fortunately, tuberculosis is curable and is among the diseases marked for eradication by the World Health Organisation. In Rivers State, the end TB strategy continues to guide our resolve to eliminate the ailment before the year 2030 with a focus on the three pillars of integrated patient-centered care and prevention, bold policies and supportive systems, and intensified research and innovation.Our determination to end TB informed the expansion of diagnostic service points from 12 rapid diagnostic machines (Genexpet) to 17 machines with a new 16-module genexpert diagnostic machine recently installed at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital a2 DOTS centres and 121 microscopy sites for monitoring of treatment.With the support of our partners, we have introduced new diagnostic equipment such as the TB Lamp, Trunat, and LF Lamp to ensure that our people have access to TB diagnostic and treatment services, which have been and will continue to be free-of-charge.The decision to organise corporate stakeholders in achieving the elimination of TB was premised on the remarkable success in TB case notification of over 8,000 TB infected persons diagnosed and treated.”