The Rivers State government has urged the defeated presidential candidate of main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in this year’s election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to rein in his attack dogs.

The government specifically identified two of Atiku’s aides – Phrank Shuaibu and Daniel Bwala – as the aggressors who should be called to order for a string of attacks on Governor Nyesom Wike.

In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by Information and Communications Commissioner Chris Finebone, the government said the PDP aggressors were yet to recover from their defeat at the presidential election.

The statement said: “While Shuaibu’s nebulous background, pedestrian and trivial comments do not merit any repetition or response here, it is rather disappointing that Daniel Bwala, a lawyer, would make a TikTok video clip admonishing Rivers people on who and how to vote in the forthcoming governorship and state assembly elections this Saturday.

“It is understandable how failure of the type of proportion their camp recently suffered on February 25 and the imminent loss of source of survival could cause. But that should not disorient their reasoning to the point of throwing tantrums at Wike.

“It is important to remind their ilk in the Atiku camp that whatever that befell them was self-inflicted. They were unable to persuade their principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to do the right and simple thing of keeping to their words.

“We hope they have learnt about the fact that there are consequences for bad behaviour. Letting the frustration of failure drive them into a state of hysteria and paranoia is needless and can do them more political harm,”  he said.

“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar must leach his attack dogs or be ready to bear the full consequences, including collateral effects, that a robust response may bring from Governor Nyesom Wike and his team.”