Officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force have sealed all the roads leading to the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, The Eagle Online is reporting.
The stadium is to be used for Wednesday’s National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party.
As early as 5am, several policemen had been deployed in the City, alongside Armoured Personnel Carriers sources told The Eagle Online from Port Harcourt.
The policemen equally sealed part of the Rivers State Government House.
Affected in the main are the Old Presidential Lodge and the Deputy Governor’s Lodge.
They have been blocked with APCs.
Some of the stalwarts of the PDP who have arrived ahead of the National Convention are lodged in the Old Presidential Lodge and the Deputy Governor’s Lodge, The Eagle Online was told.
Though there has been no official reaction to the development from the Police, those who spoke off record among the policemen said they were told to enforce the order of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja that the National Convention must not hold.
The Eagle Online recalls that Abang, in a ruling on Tuesday in a case brought by a disputed National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, ordered the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to enforce the order and the Independent National Electoral Commission not to monitor the exercise.
However, as at press time on Tuesday night, INEC said it was yet to be served with the order.
The Commission’s position was made known by its spokesman, Nick Dazang.
More so, INEC apart from having not received the order of the Abuja court is also at a crossroad as another Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State had given its nod for the National Convention to hold.
Both the Abuja and Port Harcourt courts are of the same standing.
One of the PDP chieftains who spoke with The Eagle Online on Wednesday morning, said he was baffled that the police could choose which court order to obey when the two courts that ruled have concurrent powers.
An aspirant for the position of Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Lere Olayinka, in a WhatsApp message to The Eagle Online on the development, said the action of the police was influenced by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.
Olayinka specifically accused the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, of being the arrowhead of the plot to destabilise the PDP.
He wrote: “If you still think Ali Modu Sheriff is alone in his bid to collapse the PDP, na you know.
“As for me, I knew it before now that it is the APC FG Govt (Powered by El-Rufai) that is behind Sheriff and dishing out Court Orders to kill PDP.”
