DR. SAMPSON PARKER, RIVERS COMMISSIONER FOR HEALTH
The Commissioner for Health, Rivers State, Dr. Sampson Parker, has denied knowledge of the attack on the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship rally in Okrika Local Government Area of the state last week.
The commissioner was reacting to allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party in the state that APC top shots in Okrika were among the masterminds of the mayhem in the area.
The state secretary of the PDP, Dr. Ibibia Walters, had blamed the disruption of the APC governorship rally in Okrika on the leadership tussle of members of the party in the area.
Mr. Parker described the allegation as false and illogical and warned the PDP to stop linking him to the attack.
The commissioner, in a statement on Sunday, pointed out that there was no leadership tussle in the APC in Okrika, adding that though there were two commissioners (including himself), who are members of the APC from Okrika, Davi Alagbere remained the leader of the party in the area.
He said, “Unlike in the PDP, there is some sense of orderliness in the APC. I abhor violence. And I cannot bring myself so low as to perpetrate violence against my own people. Okrika people are peaceful and hospitable.
“The Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, has asked the Assistant-Inspector General of Police, Tunde Ogunsakin, to carry out a full-scale investigation into the incident. So, he should not be in a hurry to cast aspersions. I hope that the police will do a thorough job”.
Speaking in support of the commissioner, Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Rivers State chapter, Mr. Kingsley Ibanichuka, decried the shooting that rocked the APC governorship rally in Okrika.
Ibanichuka wondered why Parker would be drawn into the incident, adding that the commissioner contributed immensely to organising the APC rally.
“Why should anyone attack his own people? It is not possible. The PDP knows what happened. They should tell the police what really happened. Dr. Parker is a man of peace and a strong supporter of the APC”, he said.