By Chukwuemeka Opara
Abakaliki – The Ebonyi Police Command has warned political parties’ supporters to avoid inter-party clashes as culprits would be severely punished.
“Political parties’ supporters should carry-out their campaigns with decorum and avoid acts that will bring clashes or any form of violent conduct.
“We recorded none of such incidents during the president’s visit and I implore that such trend continues during and after the elections,” the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Loveth Odah said in an interview with the News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abakaliki.
The police, however, sued for the understanding of Abakaliki residents over the traffic inconveniences experienced on Friday due to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate’s visit to the town.
NAN reports that strategic routes in the town were blocked from traffic, especially the roads leading to the Pa Ngele Oruta Stadium, venue of the PDP presidential rally.
The PPRO told NAN that the command was aware of the inconveniences faced by motorists over the traffic restrictions and appealed for their understanding.
“Experiencing such situations during working and business hours on two occasions within one week is definitely not palatable, but we urge motorists to bear with us.
“The restrictions are to ensure orderliness within the period of the rally and the success of such restrictions can be attested to with President Muhammadu Buhari’s own rally in the town, last Wednesday.
“We will, however, re-open the roads for usage immediately after the rally as we did during the president’s visit to the state,” she said.
The PPRO noted that adequate security had been put in place by the police for the rally in conjunction with ‘sister’ security agencies in the state.
“Adequate security personnel have been mobilised to the venue and other strategic parts of the town to prevent negative incidences during and after the period.
“We owe the success recorded during the president’s visit to the collaboration of all security agencies in the state and the cooperation from the public,” she said.