By Valentine Amanze
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has stated that no governor could hijack the structures of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said that those making insinuations to that effect were economical with the truth.
The governor spoke during a special appearance on Channels Television Sunrise Daily at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Friday.
Wike said that all governors were equal and work in unity for the stability of PDP.
He further disclosed that no governor could control party affairs in another state, which is not within his jurisdiction.
His words: “All governors are equal in the party. There is no single governor that can finance a political party as big as the PDP”.”
On comments credited to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor Wike said that 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 was not attained by financial muscle, but by the cooperation of all members.
The governor also said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the present circumstances lacked the capacity to conduct credible elections.
According to him, beyond mere rhetoric, INEC should take concrete steps to convince Nigerians that they would improve on the conduct of elections.
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 advised INEC to 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.
On the re-ordering of election sequence by the National Assembly, Governor Wike said that he believed that it was not targeted at the President as some APC leaders argued.
On projects delivery in Rivers State, 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 completed in four years. I will not start any project that will be abandoned”, he said.
He said that his administration was actively promoting women participation in government and also empowering women. The governor noted that N500 million had 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 was 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 the January 1 attack 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 said 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 had been left unattended to, pointing out that soon the political flag-off and promises would 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.