The Senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Andrew Uchendu, has asked the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to stop embarrassing Rivers people by raising false alarms that can trigger instability in the country.

Senator Uchendu, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday, said Governor Wike should only engage the Federal Government with facts on behalf of Rivers people when the needs arises, but not with outright lies that have no bearing with reality.

The representative of Rivers East Senatorial District stated that the governor should always consult with the three senators and the thirteen members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State to ascertain the appropriatness or otherwise of the type of information that is pushed to the public.

He said: "For quite a while now, Wike has brought up so many delicate issues against the Federal Government or its agencies without adducing credible facts to support his usually outrageous claims.

"Only recently, Wike accused the Federal Government of planning to assasinate him, but from my personal findings, there is no iota of truth in the unnecessary alarm raised by the Rivers governor.

"Wike also publicly accused the Federal Government of planning to reduce the population of Rivers people by contaminating the atmosphere in the state with soot. However, in his usual manner, he presented no fact to support this weighty allegation.

"Prior to the December 10, 2016, legislative re-run election in Rivers State, Wike was all over the media shouting that he would soon release an audio-visual footage of a plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in collusion with the police to rig the polls. Till today, has anyone seen the purported audio-visual clip?

"Last year, Wike, on behalf of the Rivers State Government, claimed ownership of the sum of 13 billion Naira uncovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos State, and he gave the federal government seven-day ultimatum to return the money or risk legal action. At the end of the day, Wike shamefully failed to show up in court to take possesion of the money and to show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited to the central government.

The federal lawmaker, urged Rivers people to discountenance the allegation by Wike that the Federal Government is planning to deny Rivers State its balance of the Paris Club Debt refund, as it was baseless and untrue.

"The question that Wike must answer is this: If Rivers State got its own share of the N1.75trn extra-statutory allocation known as bailout fund from the Federal Government, why then should the state be denied its balance of the Paris Club Debt refund?

Uchendu noted that it is not in the habit of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to deny any individual or group their constitutional entitlements.

"Wike is not the only governor in Nigeria. These false and unnecessary alarms are not good for the image of Rivers people. Wike should not create liabilities for our people by leaving a sour taste in the mouths of Nigerians before he leaves office," he said.

He added that it was time for Wike to put himself together and stop embarrassing Rivers people with his unguarded utterances that threaten public peace.

Solomon Okocha
Media Aide to Senator Andrew Uchendu
Rivers East Senatorial District

June 4, 2018

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ANY OTHER GOVERNOR IS A COUNTERFEIT