I got a call on Monday, August 5, 2019 drawing my attention to the
“notice me” interview that the embattled Director General of failed
NIMASA, Mr Dakuku Peterside granted to the Rivers State Correspondent of
The Nation, Otunba Bisi Olaniyi. Trust the duo, they took the
opportunity to rant and spew gibberish.
Titled: “Peterside: Wike running uninspiring, purposeless administration
“, Dakuku Peterside and his side-kick Otunba Bisi Olaniyi rehashed their
beer parlour stories against Governor Wike. I wasn’t surprised that
The Nation published the report which was a mere regurgitation of
Dakuku’s previous baseless statements. If there was any editorial due
diligence, The Nation would have realised that Dakuku Peterside and
Otunba Bisi Olaniyi have been repeating same lines on behalf of their
MINISTERIAL OGA.
I was alarmed that Dakuku Peterside would have the courage to drive all
the way to Opobo with Otunba Bisi Olaniyi and a few Pro-APC reporters
to hold an interview against Governor Wike. These guys drove on the
dualised Sakpenwa-Bori Road and passed through the
Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo-Nkoro Unity Road to the ancient town of Opobo where
they engaged in a dance of shame. Dakuku Peterside was a Commissioner
of Works under his Ministerial OGA, but was unable to link his maternal
home to the rest of Rivers State.
It took the visionary and prudent Administration of Governor Wike to
link Opobo to the rest of Rivers State. As a result of this outstanding
contribution, the Traditional Council of Opobo Kingdom handed over the
golden key of the ancient kingdom to Governor Wike. This is an
Administration that Dakuku wants to insult to please his OGA.
Dakuku’s Maternal Opobo was one of the benefitting towns in the water
supply programme that Governor Wike executed with the EU Development
Partners.
RSG-EU/NDSP Programme covered: (1) Opobo/Nkoro LGA : Opobo,Nkoro and
Kalaibiama (2) Akuku-Toru LGA : Abonnema,Kula and Abissa. This is a
Governor that Dakuku thinks his bad-mouth can shake.
Opobo where Dakuku Peterside claims as his political base is one of the
17 towns that benefitted from the reconstruction of General Hospitals
across the state during Governor Wike’s first term. Still in
Opobo-Nkoro Local Government Area about 7 basic education schools were
reconstructed.
Dakuku Peterside and his Oga abandoned several projects after diverting
the stupendous funds. Governor Wike completed majority of these projects
and initiated new projects. Therefore, in all the 23 Local Government
Areas, Governor Wike has key projects to his credit. He is continuing
with projects delivery during his second term. In the first 100days of
his second term, Governor Wike will roll out more completed projects in
all the three Senatorial Districts of the state. This is a man Dakuku
Peterside thinks he can malign. What an exercise in futility.
At the Rivers State University, Governor Wike signature projects are
visible. The Faculty of Law building, the Faculty of Medical Sciences,
the Faculty of Management Sciences, the Faculty Technical Education
Building and the Students Union Secretariat are testament of the
Governor’s investment in the institution. Today, Rivers State has a
Teaching Hospital.
Dakuku’s Oga ran away with five months civil servants salaries and four
months pension. Governor Wike settled these outstanding and has been
consistent in the payment of Pensioners and Civil Servants. The
Contributory Pension scheme mismanaged by Dakuku’s Oga has been
addressed. The first set of Contributory Pensioners have been paid.
Others are engaged in biometric capture for their own payment.
On the issue of security, Governor Wike has continued to support the
promotion of security of lives and property. During his first term, he
supported the security agencies with over 300 operational vehicles,
armoured personnel Carriers and gunboats. He also funded all
operations. This term, Governor Wike has launched Operation Sting with
76 Operational Vehicles, 8 gunboats, 450 communication equipment and
armoured personnel Carriers.
With elections over, Governor Wike is working towards making the Rivers
State Neighbourhood Safety Corps operational. It was Dakuku Peterside
and his Ministerial Oga that engineered the disruption of the scheme
after they convinced the Nigerian Army to invade the training centre at
Nonwa Tai. Governor Wike is working to operationalise the
Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency which will have over 2000 operatives.
Over the last four years, Governor Wike has embarked on series of loan
schemes to empower civil servants and entrepreneurs. His projects over
the last four years have generated over a hundred thousand jobs.
Rivers people are not deceived by the regular rantings of Dakuku
Peterside. They understand that it is his strategy to pledge his
loyalty to his Ministerial Oga who has been defeated in the Rivers
political landscape. Dakuku forgot that during the last election, his
Ministerial Oga jettisoned and pitched tent with the bouncer of an
International boxer. With such false interviews, published in a lying
paper, he hopes to be endorsed to try his luck in 2023.
Since the Ministerial Oga, Major General Jamil Sarhem, the 6 Division,
the APC Machine and the neophyte AAC alliance lost woefully on March 9,
2019, Dakuku ought to have seen the handwriting on the wall. Rivers
people have since rejected these anti-Rivers alliance.
I wonder why Dakuku Peterside and his Ministerial Oga rely on lies when
they could not convince the APC Federal Government to execute a single
project in Rivers State since 2015. All they do is to attract political
violence to a state that has rejected them.
In seeking political relevance, Dakuku Peterside should abandon lies. He
has used this strategy since 2014 to no avail. He should stop using
Otunba Bisi Olaniyi. He is a notorious mischief maker already relegated
by the Rivers reading public. Dakuku should re-strategise and contest
for the Opobo-Nkoro State Constituency. Let him try his luck at that
level. Let him conquer his Constituency in 2023. Thereafter, he can seek
higher office in 2027. Rivers State is bigger than this failed
Commissioner of Works who disappointed his people.
Governor Wike remains committed to the development of Rivers State.
These tales by moonlight cannot distract Governor Wike. He
appreciates the mandate freely given to him by Rivers people and he will
never disappoint them.
Pictures: Governor Wike collecting the Golden key of Opobo from the
Amayanabo of Opobo, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja