Encomium
Rivers state Chapter of the All Progressives Congress says the Peoples Democratic Party is running a government of deceit in the state.
Alleging this in a press release, the APC Publicity Secretary, Mr Chris Finebone sent to encomium.ng this morning (Friday,July 3,2014), the party told Rivers people not to trust Governor Nyesom Wike.
“Having closely observed the slightly over one month old Rivers State Government led by Governor Nyesom Wike, the APC has come to the conclusion that we have a government of deceit on our hands.
“During the political campaigns early in the year, Barrister Nyesom Wike and the PDP claimed to have a development master plan for Rivers State. However, a quick and careful scrutiny revealed that it was a cloning of the now famous Roadmap to Prosperity developed by Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, the APC Governorship Candidate.
“A further confirmation of this became obvious last week when the governor set up a Steering Committee on the Blue Print for Rivers State Government under the Chairmanship of Barr. Nimi Waltson-Jack who explained that his committee was set up to streamline planned government projects. And the question is : Did the Wike team really have a developmental programme for the State ab initio as claimed?
“The seeming confusion the government is presently bedevilled with is occasioned by its lack of understanding of Dr. Dakuku Peterside’s Roadmap to Prosperity which the governor copied so badly.
“The APC has also observed that Governor Nyesom Wike is craftily pursuing the completion of many of the projects initiated, commenced and almost completed by former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in order to claim them as his achievements within his 100 days in office. Most of those projects were at over 90 percent completion stage when the incumbent governor was sworn in. There is nothing wrong with completing projects he met, but what is wrong is dishonestly laying total claim to them without acknowledging and giving any dint of credit to the initiator, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi.
“Even if Governor Wike met a cumulative sum of over N7 billion when he came into office by May 29, 2015, he rather went to town claiming that he met an empty treasury just to pave way for the spate of loans he is now obtaining from every imaginable bank across Nigeria. We hear the traditional Osusu or Akawo people are warming up to be patronized by Gov Wike as soon as he finds no more banks to borrow from.
“Recently, Governor Nyesom Wike promised to award the Iguruta – Chokocho Road while speaking on a radio programme. But that road is an on-going NDDC project. Records show that the Iguruta – Chokocho Road was one of the projects the Jonathan Presidency used to funnel several billions of Naira to fund the 2015 general elections, with Wike benefitting from the largesse. So far, N2 billion has already been paid for the project by the NDDC.
“The APC would like the Rivers State Governor to explain why he is in a hurry to take credit for projects initiated and almost completed by his predecessor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi and other State and Federal Government agencies, claiming same to be wholly his,” APC said.
The opposition APC and the ruling PDP have been waging a fierce war of words over the state and management of the state finances.
And the controversy seems to have taken another dimension, with the APC labelling Governor Wike’s a- little- over- one-month government nothing but a grand deceit.
– Uche Olehi
