Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
The All Progressives Congress, or APC, in Rivers State retaliated against Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday for calling Rotimi Amaechi, his predecessor and former Minister of Transportation, a “total failure” for what was thought to be his failure to bring development to Rivers during his more than seven years in that position.
His Highness, Anabs Sara-Igbe, a well-known South-South leader, lashed out at Wike at the time, accusing him of harboring animosity for the Ijaw people and members of the Kalabari ethnic nationalities.
At a public event in Port Harcourt on Monday, Wike severely reprimanded the Rivers APC leader for expressing displeasure over what he perceived to be his administration’s lack of concern for the health of former minister Alabo T. O. Graham-Douglas during the prolonged illness that ultimately led to his death. Wike was also not present at Graham-Douglas’ funeral on Saturday.
The Rivers APC’s spokesman, Darlington Nwauju, responded to the governor’s diatribe against Amaechi by saying: “The APC is not a shallow ground where people cannot preserve records or missing institutional memory. We are all Rivers people, so we are well-versed in history. Who is who and what is what are known to us.
Our answer to Wike’s harsh criticism of the minister and our party is not to refute claims, but to appropriately lay bare the truth. We are interested in the insinuation that our leader, Amaechi, is a failure and could not attract anything as a minister to Rivers.
“Amaechi is a man who passionately served Rivers as governor, held the office of speaker, and made significant contributions to the APC’s victory in Nigeria. There is sufficient evidence to show that the assertion that our leader did nothing to improve the lives of Rivers citizens is untrue and pure blackmail, and as a party, we will not permit his reputation to be damaged in this way.
“Under him, the Afam Fast Power Project was started in 2016 and is almost finished. It is an 186 million dollar, 240 MW expansion for the current Afam Power Plant.
Sections 1 through 4 of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway are being renovated (ongoing). Bonny-Bodo Road in Rivers State is currently being built; it is being sponsored by a partnership between the federal government and Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Company Limited.
“Completion of new Port Harcourt International Airport Terminal. Brand new International Airport Terminal in Rivers State, completed and commissioned in 2018. Ground-breaking in 2021 for reconstruction of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Rail Line.
“Completion of installation and commissioning into service of a brand new 300MVA 330/132/33kV power transformer in the Alaoji Transmission Substation, increasing the station’s installed capacity from 450MVA to 750MVA and making it the biggest substation in Southern Nigeria.
“The new transformer has boosted supply to Enugu Distribution Company, benefiting Abia North (Ohafia, Arochukwu, Item, Abriba), Imo State (Okigwe, Arondi-Izuogu), and parts of Ebonyi and Rivers states.”
On claim by Wike that Rivers APC has become empty with defection of several members to the PDP, Nwauju countered that nothing could be farther from the truth, saying ruling PDP in Rivers has suffered more high profile defections to the APC.
You hate Kalabari, Ijaw, Sara-Igbe blasts Wike Wike
Sara-Igbe, in a statement, yesterday, said the governor’s claim of spending N50 million on the health of elder statesman, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, whose burial, he shunned, last weekend, was “political, insincere, incongruous and diversionary.”
He stated: “It is shocking and deeply regrettable that since taking office as governor, Wike has politically and economically subjugated and enslaved the people of the Kalabari ethnic nationality and, indirectly, the Ijaw nation, instead of demonstrating a high level of maturity, responsibility, responsiveness, and provide good leadership, anchored on equity, fairness, and justice.
“It is also regrettable that Governor Wike has openly displayed his contempt, utter hatred, and nepotism toward the people of Kalabari Kingdom and the Ijaw nation at large, rather than developing measures that would foster cohesion and peaceful coexistence among the people and give all ethnic nationalities in Rivers State a sense of belonging.
