The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr Dakuku Peterside has berated Governor Nyesom Wike accusing him of supposedly portraying the people of the state “as lacking dignity, self-esteem and freedom of choice.”
Peterside was particularly piqued by statements coming from the governor that he (Wike) was solely in charge of the state and that nobody could achieve anything politically without him approving it.
It would be recalled that Governor Wike, during the flag-off of Oyigbo-Okoloma Road, had told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, that on no account should any member of the party from Rivers State approach him or any National Working Committee (NWC) member for consultation as regards political ambition for the 2023 general election.
The governor further declared that he was completely in charge of the State and that anybody who goes out of the State to consult with anybody has already lost his chances.
But Dr Peterside said Governor Wike, because of power which he is holding in trust and his access to Rivers peoples’ commonwealth, is now turning himself into the “god of Rivers people who must be worshipped, begged, praised and appeased, if good fortune is to smile on them.”
The immediate past director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) alleged that Gov Wike now exudes an imperial air over the Rivers people who he described as hapless.
“Wike’s egotistical and authoritarian leadership style is the reason why Rivers State is the way it is today. His Commissioners are scared telling him the truth. Wike’s unfounded and vainglorious arrogance is the reason why there is fear among his party members as the governor has become he who must be obeyed.
Dr Peterside lamented that the people of Oyigbo are being treated “as a conquered people,” pointing out that it took six years for the governor to flag-off of the road that is a major artery connecting Abia, Ogoni axis and the rest of Rivers State.
According to Peterside, “When I raised alarm that there was not much on ground to justify all the multibillions borrowed, in addition to federal allocation and internally generated revenue, the governor rabbled-roused and ran all over the media denying it.
“Just few days ago, the Debt Management Office (DMO) stated that Rivers was among the top three indebted states in Nigeria with debt exposure to the tune of N230bn. Will the governor now come out to say the DMO is lying? Or will he say he was not the one that borrowed the money? How can such a governor take his people for a ride?
