The All Progressive Congress (APC) of the rivers chapter have allegated plans by the governor of Rivers State, Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, to obtain loans of N100 billion from a number of banks in two months. The party says that Wike plans to take the loans in little bits of N10 billion, N20 billion, N30 billion and N40 billion within a shortwhile period.
According to a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday and signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Chris Finebone: “The All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State Chapter has uncovered a strategic plan by Governor Nyesom Wike to obtain loans totalling N100b in the few months he is expected to be in power as the governor of Rivers State thereby plunging the state into an abyss of debt and economic servitude. According to the plan, the governor plans to collect the said amount in tranches of N10b, N20b, N30b and N40b within a period of two months.”
It read further: “Information we are privy to strongly indicates that the governor and his men have started negotiation with Heritage and Eco Banks to obtain another loan of N30b in the coming week or so. This will bring the total amount of loan obtained by the embattled governor to N60b in less than 45 days as governor of Rivers State. The APC can only agree that the good people of Rivers State have ended up in the notorious Lagos buses used in robbing unsuspecting citizens popularly called ‘one chance.’ With the short-term Wike-led government of Rivers State, indeed, we have all entered a ‘one chance’ bus.”
“Seriously speaking, it boggles the mind that a sitting governor of a state will embark on such wanton collection of loans by selling the dummy of completing projects to innocent Rivers people without consideration for the long-term negative economic implication of mortgaging the future of the state.
“The question then is: what was the strategic plan of Barr. Nyesom Wike for seeking to govern Rivers State?”
“The APC would like to state that beyond the dummy of borrowing to complete projects which the governor has been selling to Rivers people, the real intention of Governor Wike’s reckless borrowing is to provide funds for his cronies who have started showing signs of disenchantment and the need to deepen his war chest preparatory to a re-run election that is looming,” the statement read.