This was made known through a statement signed by the Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of the party yesterday.

The statement reads in part:

Our party condemns this dastardly attack on the church, which we believe was well planned and targeted to causing harm to worshippers and persons close to Governor Wike, particularly, his father.

The PDP is disturbed by the intentions of the attackers in detonating an explosive in a religious place particularly given the large number of persons that usually gather at such places.

While we demand for a thorough investigation into the attack as well as prosecution of all those involved, we hold, as a party, that the time has come, more than ever in our contemporary history, for the amendment of our extant laws to allow state governors to be in charge of the security of their respective states.

We restate our call for the amendment of relevant sections of the 1999 constitution (as emended) to allow states more control of security issues in their respective domains.

Our party however commends the people of River state for their alertness, which led to the arrest of the attackers. Such courageous act by the people also points to the need to allow greater participation of communities and state governments in the handling of security issues in their environment.

The PDP especially commends Governor Wike for his efforts towards ensuring the security of his state despite the daunting challenges.

The PDP urges Governor Wike, the members of the Christian Universal Church and the people of Rivers State not to be deterred by this attack but to remain at alert especially at this critical time.