The governor of Rivers state, Simi Fubara, has spoken about the bomb scare that happened in the state capital, Port Harcourt.
According to Fubara, the failed attempt to detonate an explosive device at the Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, was a deliberate ploy to strengthen the call for a state of emergency by haters who want to undermine the state to achieve their evil plans.
The governor stated this when he received, on a courtesy visit, a delegation of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, led by its Chairman, Senator Orji Uzo Kalu, to Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, and sent to newsmen.
The governor explained that some youths were hired to engage in a protest to demand for extension of tenure of former local government chairmen who have served out their statutory three-year tenure.
Governor Fubara said the protesters and their sponsors were aware that some honourable members of the National Assembly were guests at the Hotel Presidential, which is why they attempted to detonate an explosive device near the facility to give reason to support the call for a state of emergency when the matter is raised at plenary but they failed.
He said, “As a matter of fact, let me tell you, I know of everything that is happening. Yesterday (Tuesday), they (protesters) were aware that you are in the state. So, there was an attempt to create a serious problem.
“In fact, there was a plan to detonate dynamite at the Hotel Presidential because you people were there. But this God that we serve, it happened that the man who was trying to do it detonated it but just few seconds after, it blew his hands off.
“The idea was that as you were hearing state of emergency, it will be so that by the time they finish when you return to have your sitting tomorrow (Thursday), the debate will be from somebody from this state who called you people to tell you not to come.
“He will now raise the issue of state of emergency, and say after all, distinguished colleagues saw it happen while you were in Rivers State, that you saw what happened.
“But you see, when you are with God, even your own child who is planning evil, will go and tell somebody that, God is with this man because he is clean, this is what my father is planning. That is what is keeping us in this state.”