Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, says Nigerians are
\ndisappointed with the National Assembly for confirming sacked Service
\nChiefs\u00a0 as ambassadors.<\/p>\n
The governor related the disappointment of Nigerians to members of the
\nSenate Committee on Niger Delta when they paid courtesy visit to him at
\nGovernment House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike wondered why Senators who agreed with Nigerians when they
\ndecried the poor performance of the Service Chiefs will sit to cleared
\nthem for another appointment.<\/p>\n
“Let me use this opportunity to express the dismay of most Nigerians to
\nthe Senate. Convey this to the Senate. We must be courageous in whatever
\nwe are doing. Everything must not be party affairs. You (Senators) sat
\nand discussed that they should dismiss the service chiefs. You said
\nthey’re not performing.<\/p>\n
“Now the same people who were not performing, you have confirmed them as
\nambassadors. What kind of country are we?<\/p>\n
“In anything we do, we must remember that there is tomorrow; our
\nconscience is key. It’s not because I want to be a loyalist to a party.
\nNo. There are things you cannot reconcile at all.”<\/p>\n
Speaking about the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Governor
\nWike said the commission has abandoned its core mandate and leaving
\nthose who canvassed for its establishment disillusioned.<\/p>\n
“I don’t like talking about NDDC. It is unfortunate that those who
\nfought for it, if they knew that this is how NDDC will be, I don’t think
\nthat they would have even asked for it.”<\/p>\n
He noted that over the years various National Assembly committees on
\nNDDC have not provided sufficient direction that will make the
\ncommission focus on its core mandate of developing the region.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike said some politicians have transformed\u00a0 the NDDC\u00a0 into a
\ncash cow for the prosecution of sinister political agenda. To buttress
\nthis, he accused the commission spending N10 billion to unseat him from
\noffice, but the scheme failed.<\/p>\n
The Governor urged Committee’s leadership to prevail on the management
\nof the NDDC to embark on legacy infrastructural projects such as the
\neight flyover being constructed by the Rivers State government, and not
\nto waste resources on doing 50 or 100 meter roads.<\/p>\n
“You, as the Senate Committee Chairman, and that of the House Committee,
\nyou’re from the region too. You are supervising NDDC, so why not sit
\ndown with them to know what are the legacy projects that they want to
\ncarry out this year in the Niger Delta States. Tell them these are
\nprojects they must make sure first are being done.<\/p>\n
“Rather than do that, you allow them do 50 or 100 meters road or a close
\nthat leads to someone’s house. What’s their business there?<\/p>\n
The governor accused the presidency, the National Assembly and the
\nruling party for the gross inefficiency of the NDDC.<\/p>\n
“The National Assembly is part of the problem of NDDC . The presidency
\nis part of the problem of NDDC and the party in power is part of the
\nproblem of NDDC, whichever party it is. They don’t allow NDDC to
\nperform. We too in Niger Delta are not allowing them to perform.\u00a0 We are
\nenemies to ourselves.”<\/p>\n
He noted how the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) refused to
\nendorsed the amendment of the Electoral Act\u00a0 for fear that they will
\nlose the 2019 General Election when it was the best thing to do for the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The governor also expressed his displeasure over a Senator who
\noverstepped his immunity during plenary to demean a serving governor by
\ncalling him a drunk.<\/p>\n
In his speech,\u00a0 Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Senator
\nPeter Nwaoboshi said they visited to assure Governor Wike, as the host
\nof NDDC, that the commission will be supervised to perform within its
\ncore mandate.<\/p>\n
“As a committee, we are aware that you have some reservation with the
\nNDDC based on your state’s previous relationship with them. We have come
\nto assure you that with the people you have seen here,\u00a0 who are
\npatriotic Nigerians, that we will make sure that the aspirations and the
\naim of creating the NDDC will be achieved.<\/p>\n
“We will do everything that is possible within the limits of the
\nconstitution through our oversight functions for them to achieve their
\nobjectives.”<\/p>\n
Senator Nwaoboshi also commended the governor for having\u00a0 done well in
\nproviding security in Rivers State with NDDC benefiting from it.<\/p>\n
He noted that Governor Wike has become the strongest voice that have
\ncontinued to speak truth to power at the risk of his political career.<\/p>\n
“We say without fear of contradiction that you are the strongest voice
\nin the Niger Delta Region. You have always been courageous even at the
\nrisk of your political career to speak the truth to power.<\/p>\n
“You have also advanced the interest of the people of Niger Delta. That
\nis why anybody visiting Niger Delta will have nothing but to come and
\nsee that courageous man that is bestriding the area like a colossus.”<\/p>\n
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, says Nigerians are disappointed with the National Assembly for confirming sacked Service Chiefs\u00a0 as ambassadors. The governor related the disappointment of Nigerians to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n