An explosion rocked the Tony Okocha-led Rivers APC Secretariat in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on Saturday morning, causing significant damage to the building and its surroundings.
The blast shattered the gate and doors of the secretariat, located along Aba Road, and destroyed other properties. This incident occurred while the local government election was underway in the state.
According to Tony Okocha, Chairman of the APC faction in Rivers State, the explosion happened around 3:20 a.m. when armed young men dropped explosives at the secretariat. They returned a second time to set the structure ablaze after the initial explosive failed to detonate.
“About 3:20 am some gun-trotting young men with their explosives and all that, came here and dropped the first explosive, maybe because the one they dropped here did not detonate, they came back the second time to burn the structure – look at the security house is gone. “Behind me, you will see that there was also an attempt, our people came and we were able to quench the fire,” Okocha said
Okocha questioned the intent behind the attack, emphasizing that the APC secretariat is not a voting unit. He believes the goal was to embarrass, annihilate, and decimate the APC.
A viral video showed workers assessing the damage to the secretariat. The state police command spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, stated that she had not received a report on the incident but promised to follow up. This marks the second attack on the APC secretariat this year.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Rivers local government poll, accreditation, and voting have commenced in numerous polling centers across Port Harcourt City.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission confirmed the distribution of sensitive materials to various local government areas on Friday.
