Wike not scared of EFCC invite, says he hands are clean
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nyesom Wike says he is not scared of invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or any other anti-graft agency to give account of his stewardship when his tenure as Rivers Governor ends on May 29.
He vowed on Channels Television he would not sneak out of the country nor leave office a day before the expiration of his term as he has not committed any crime to warrant such,
“I’m not afraid of EFCC. Why should I be afraid of it? If they invite me I will answer them. I won’t run away a day before my tenure expires,” Wike insisted when asked if he is bothered by the threat by the crime buster to arrest corrupt Governors when their tenure expires.
Wike cleared the air on the alleged N200 billion debt of Rivers, saying he does not know where the claims are coming from.
He said his administration has no unpaid loan except the loans collected from Access and Zenith Banks that are less than N7 billion combined, which will be liquidated by June 2023.
“I have never collected any foreign loan, I’m owing only two banks – Access and Zenith Banks. By June it will be liquidated.”
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Wike backs Ayu’s suspension
Wike expressed support for the suspension of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu by his local ward in Benue, per Vanguard.
He argued Ayu ought to have voluntarily resigned because he led the PDP to failure in the general election.
“Ayu has failed woefully. He led PDP to a colossal failure and should have resigned without waiting to be suspended.
“A man who lost his ward and state has no business presiding over the affairs of PDP. Now you have lost Benue State, if other states had also been lost which state will you been presiding over?
“We can’t allow PDP to be in the hands of those who have no state in it. I will support those who suspended him.”
Wike noted Ayu is accused of double loyalty for his claim of closeness to both Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Before the election, Ayu said he was close to both Tinubu and Atiku. So, it means that whosoever that wins, he is comfortable.
“Ayu as PDP National Chairman was only interested in amassing wealth. They were only after what they can acquire. I have challenged him before, and I still do it again: let him deny that he collected money from a certain Governor in Lagos.”
Wike also accused the PDP national leadership headed by Ayu of jettisoning zoning in the party constitution because of selfish interests.
Asked why he worked against the PDP and still blames Ayu for its poor performance at the ballot box, Wike said he only worked for the unity of Nigeria because he prefers national unity to PDP victory.
He said he has never hidden his opposition to a Northern President in 2023, arguing justice and equity demand power naturally rotates back to the South as President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, would complete his eight-year tenure in May.