With a jab at governor Nyesom Wike over mounting insecurity and with a promise to restore decency in the state so as to attract investors and bridge the unemployment gap, Tonye Cole, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has said that the state is suffering due to the fact that the present government has failed to secure the people and restore confidence in investors in the area of security.
Tonye Cole who was a guest on a Radio Political program, View Point, argued that with stable security, the state will attract investors and create more jobs and curtail the unemployment rate which he said is the highest in the country.
The gubernatorial candidate also said that the party will exercise its rights and has appealed the judgment of the Federal High Court which barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from fielding candidates of the party for the 2019 elections.
According to Cole, he will only lose hope of contesting the gubernatorial election when the Supreme Court has aligned with the judgement of the Federal High Court.
On his issues with the Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe, Cole said that it is high time both factions sat at a roundtable and have a discussion so as to settle their differences once and for all.
However, the Rivers State PDP Campaign Council while reacting to Cole’s assertion that the state is not safe, described the governorship Aspirant as an enemy of the people of the State for demarketing the State to advance his narrow political interest.
The council pointed out that his comments that Rivers is unsafe is mischievous, dishonest and spiteful.
The council said Cole painted a gloomy picture of the security situation in Rivers State and saw nothing good in the combined efforts of the State Government and security agencies despite the huge reduction in criminality in the State
The council in a statement it issued in Port Harcourt by its Director of Information and Communications, Emma Okah, and made available to theportcitynews said Cole’s comments were unfortunate and unbecoming of a pastor who should see truth as sacred.
“If the state were unsafe, why is he moving to and from different parts of the state, holding rallies, attending church programmes and pushing his hollow campaigns without molestation?” Okah querried, pointing out that Cole is simply playing a spoiler.
Describing Cole as a joker, Okah said there is no known record of Cole’s contributions in any way to the security of his local Abonnema or even the state.
“While the state government battled the federal govetnment since 2015 to accord Rivers State similar cooperation extended to other states in terms of crime fighting, Cole saw nothing wrong in what the centre was doing to his state” Okah said pointing out that the State Government has shown ledership by tackling security challenges in the State and that is why Cole and his party can campaign freely today.
On the alleged job loss in the State, Okah said Cole should hold the Federal Government and his APC resposible as Nigeria has lost 23.9 million jobs since 2015 as a result of the ineptitude of centre.
“Nigerians have never had it this bad since 1960 but we are proud that Gov Wike has shown huge strenght in leadership, development and infrastructure since 2015, making the Vice President to call him Mr Project” Okah said
Okah said Cole who is a pastor embarrassed himself when he said he has not seen anything positive that Gov Nyesom Wike has done in Rivers State since 2015.
“If all the Jetties, health centres, zonal, general and specialised hospitals reconstructed and newly constructed educational institutions, feeder and ring roads, land reclamations, housing projects, infrastructure, enhanced security surveillance facilities etc that traverse Abonnema, Degema, Abua-Odual, ONELGA, Ahoada and all the LGAs mean nothing to Cole, then Rivers people must shine their eyes well” Okah said.
