By George Onah – The Niger Delta Coalition Against Violence has warned against the state of violence occasioned by politics in Rivers State and the region in general. The group said the Ogoni violence and elsewhere in Rivers State was particularly worrisome.

A statement signed by its president Mr. Christian Lekia, said the group had discovered that the violence was in some instance traceable to imposition of candidates from the local government to the senatorial districts levels.

The group condemned the recent violence in Ogoni, comprising Eleme, Tai, Gokana and Khana, arising from the senatorial dispute involving these local government areas and Oyigbo, Opobo/Nkoro and Andoni

It said the state and region had just survived a “very vicious cycle of violence, which had ushered some level of peace”, explaining that “another round of violence in the area would be disastrous and should be checked at all cost.

As an organisation against violence, “we shall, where unavoidable, protest, we shall go to the law court to stop any electoral exercise that would be viewed as a rape on the conscience of the people especially” where there have been alleged illegal endorsement of candidates.

“We shall deploy every fundamental, constitutional and legal means to sensitise our people to reject and resist in its entirety any candidate found to be imposed on our people by any camp, godfather, family or political party”.

The group also reasoned that “politics of settlement, where an elective post is made to be an exclusive property of a single clique or individual” was tantamount to sowing seed of discord amongst the electorates and hence danger to the fragile peace in the region”.