Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has stated that no single
governor can hijack the structures of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), saying those making insinuations to that effect are economical with
the truth.
Speaking during a special appearance on Channels Television Sunrise Daily
at the Government House, Port Harcourt,on Friday, Governor Wike said all
governors are equal and work in unity for the stability of the PDP.
Governor Wike stated that no governor can control party affairs in another
state, which is not within his jurisdiction.
He said: All governors are equal in the party. There is no single
Governor that can finance a political party as big as the PDP.
Speaking on comments credited to Former President Olusegun Obasanjo,
Governor Wike said the former leader has left the PDP and destroyed his
membership card. He wondered why the Former President is so interested in
developments within the PDP.
The governor noted that the stability of the political party is not
attained by financial muscle, but by the cooperation of all members.
Speaking further, the governor said that the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) under the present circumstances lack the
capacity to conduct credible elections.
He said beyond mere rhetoric, INEC should take concrete steps to convince
Nigerians that they will improve on the conduct of elections.
Governor Wike said that the first step that INEC should take is to
transparently investigate the printing of Fake INEC result sheets by
Rivers APC chieftains.
The governor added that INEC should further explain how the Police got
original result sheets with same serial number of the Rivers East
Senatorial District election, where INEC declared Senator George Sekibo
winner, only for the police to tender a different result, relied upon by
the court to declare APC winner in that election.
Commenting on the re-ordering of election sequence by the National
Assembly, Governor Wike said that he believes it is not targeted at the
President as some APC leaders have argued.
On projects delivery in Rivers State, Governor Wike maintained that he
has instituted a system to do away with the era of abandoned projects
which he inherited from his predecessor.
He added that the State Government has reached out to all the 23 Local
Government Areas with meaningful projects and in other cases, he has
completed projects abandoned by the Amaechi administration.
“I am guided to execute projects that will be completedin four years. I
will not start any project that will be abandoned”, he said.
He stated that his administration is actively promoting women
participation in government and also empowering women. The governor noted
that N500million has been set aside as an empowerment scheme for Rivers
women.
He reiterated that he has not been reached through official channels on
the visit of the President. He noted that the communication line between
the Presidency and the Rivers State Government is not through a press
statement issued by Femi Adesina.
“If you are sayimg that the President is coming to commiserate with the
families of the people who died on 1st January, 2018, I have no problems
with that. Since 1st January, 2018, nobody has called to commiserate with
the Rivers State Government. When theJanuary 1attack happened, APC
leaders politicised the attack “, he said.
The governor noted that for close to three years, Rivers State has not
benefitted from the APC Federal Government. He informed that the Ogoni
clean up has remained in the realm of rhetoric, while the Bodo-Bonny Road
is about to be abandoned. He stressed that the East West road, the Port
Harcourt International Airport and other Federal Projects have been left
unattended to, pointing out that in the coming days, political flag off
and promises will be heightened around the neglected projects to hoodwink
Nigerians.
Governor Wike later took the ChannelsTelevision Sunrise Daily Crew on a
tour of selected projects in Port Harcourt.