Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has said the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, committed to the highest level of anti-party and embarked on self-destruct when they dumped the zoning arrangements entrenched in the party’s constitution.
The Governor maintained that such an anti-party decision contributed largely to the party’s catastrophic defeat in the just-concluded presidential election.
Wike spoke when the three Rivers senators-elect; the Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Senator Barry Mpigi, and Allwell Onyesoh visited him at his private residence in Rumueprikom on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, to present their certificates of return to him.
The Governor insisted the PDP’s Constitution in Section 7(3)(c) states “pursuant of the principles of equity, justice, and fairness the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation of elective and appointive offices’.
He said: “We are proud to have produced the three senators. Out of 13 House of Reps, they have announced ten, and we have taken nine. We believe that when election is done in the other ones, we will also emerge victorious because Rivers State has always been with PDP as regards to the issues of our local elections.
“When our party abandoned the principle of equity, fairness, and justice; when our party abandoned the provisions of our constitution, which is the highest anti-party anybody can do, they also have to pay for it.
“If you see that your constitution says this is what you should do, and you abandoned it, you have committed anti-party more than any other thing. Our own is unity of Nigeria, and that is what we stand for. Unity of Nigeria is far above party interest.”
Wike said the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors deserved commendation for their nationalistic stance that propelled the party to zone the presidency to the south.
According to him, the emergence of the president-elect of southern extraction was made possible because of the premium APC governors attached to national unity.
He said: “That is why I said that the APC governors are my heroes. They came out openly to tell the world, to tell Nigerians, look, the unity of this country is paramount, we don’t want Nigeria to be divided.
“In fact, I was shocked when all of them came out and said we have had it for eight years in the north, let it go this way (south) for eight years so that we can have harmony, peace, and unity.”
‘For Election Sake’: Governor Wike Raises Alarm Over ‘Pressure On NASS To Pass NDDC Budget’
Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, has alleged that the National Assembly is under pressure to pass the budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, not to develop the region, but to raise funds for this year’s elections.
Governor Wike describes the five hundred (500) billion naira budget proposal of the commission as a fraud, quarrying the importance of some of its provisions.
He said it is irrelevant for the NDDC to propose a whopping sum of four (4) Billion Naira for the desilting of drainages and another sixty (60) billion naira for security agencies.
Governor Wike was speaking on Monday, January 9, 2023, when delegations from media houses visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to present letters of nomination as the Leadership Politician of the Year 2022 and the Sun Courage in Leadership Award 2022.
Governor Wike wondered why a commission that “has not completed one road in one year”, despite being established to develop key infrastructures in the Niger Delta region, is allocating such an amount of money to clean drainages and build structures for security agencies.
He also queried the relevance of the Niger Delta Ministry which was created in 2008 to coordinate efforts to tackle the changes in infrastructure development, environmental protection, and youth empowerment in the Niger Delta.
He says all that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs does, is supervise the activities of the NDDC, a situation he says further puts pressure on the commission.
Governor Nyesom Wike also spoke on the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
He went down memory lane to recall how the party betrayed his trust and confidence when the convention committee reopened a foreclosed window to allow a Presidential Aspirant, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State to relaunch a campaign after all the aspirants had spoken.
He said Governor Tambuwal did not only announce his withdrawal from the race, which is of no offence to him but was allowed to instruct his supporters on who to vote for.
Wike said the PDP Presidential Primary was completely marred by irregularities by the fact that Governor Tambuwal was allowed to launch a fresh campaign after all the aspirants were given the time to speak and voting was about to begin.
Governor Wike told the delegation of media managers and editors that he decided to forge ahead despite the fraud perpetrated by his party, believing that equity will be done in the holding of party positions and that its national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu will resign as allegedly promised.
He explained how he could have taken up legal action against the PDP, but for the love, he has for the party he sacrificed a lot to rebuild when it was abandoned.
He said while he has not reneged on his promise at the convention ground to support whoever that emerges as the Candidate, the other party must also fulfil its promise.
Governor Wike said he cannot join the PDP Presidential campaign to tell lies about it prospect to do things differently in the country when its leadership has not been able to effect minor internal changes.
He spoke confidently that no amount of threat and blackmail will deter him from speaking the truth, declaring boldly that he is not “a move-about politician”.aid that Rivers State has not benefitted from the Federal Government since 1999 despite its support for the party.
Governor Wike, however, encouraged media organizations not to “panel beat” the truth to create a better society for the preset and posterity.
Source: The Nation
