By Dada Ahmed.
Governor Wike of River state.
Photo credit: The Sun.
As relatives of the 31 persons that died at Polo club stampede in Portharcourt,River state on Saturday bemoan over the death of their loved ones, the Governor of the state, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has expressed grief and profound condolences over the loss of lives in the unfortunate incident.
This is contained in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Kevin Ebri in Portharcourt on Saturday.
He qouted his principal as saying” On behalf of the Government and people of Rivers State, I pray for God to grant the bereaved families the fortitude to bear the loss of their loved ones.
“I also pray for the souls of all the faithful departed to rest in perfect peace. And to the injured, I wish them a speedy recovery.”
The governor said the Rivers State government would constitute a probe panel to investigate the incident,in details, on the cause(s) of the incident.
Sources told our Correspondent that the incident happened at about 9 a.m of Saturday when some people, called by one of the new generation churches to come for palliatives,such as foods among others,rushed to the venue for the gesture, resulting in stampede.
Wike, who was in Abuja to participate in the PDP primary election as one of presidential aspirants to seek delegates’ votes for the 2023 presidential poll, urged Nigerians to elect a courageous leader that would provide purposeful leadership for the country in the next polical dispensation.
According to him,he is such a courageous leader that can provide the needed leadership for Nigeria,if elected at the primary election and the presidential election.
Meanwhile, voting by delegates began at about 8.30 p.m.with all the delegates agreeing to cooperate with for whoever wins the election among them.