I thought UPTH CMD was a HIV patient first time I saw him – Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has accused the Chief Medical Director of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH, Professor Henry Ugboma of abusing him because he did not make him a commissioner.

He also said that he thought the professor was a HIV patient the first day he saw him.

He stated this on Thursday during the grand finale of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, local government election campaign in Etche.

He said the CMD began abusing him because he did not make him commissioner, adding that he set targets for himself without knowing what he as the governor has in mind.

Wike’s statement comes days after Ugboma said the governor had mandated the transition Committee which he was a member of to indict his predecessor and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

Ugboma had said that tarnishing Amaechi’s image was Wike’s number one agenda even before his inauguration as governor.

Speaking on Arise TV on Monday, Ugboma said, “I can rightly tell you that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has this paranoid issue against the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. I noticed this as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and that was one of the reasons I left the party.

“I was a member of the transition committee set up by Wike immediately after the election to marshal out and put together things that will destroy the honourable Minister of Transportation, and Governor Wike immediately set us to task, that we must derive, contrived things that will mess up Amaechi and destroy him politically, and make sure that he doesn’t take up any political position in the country.”

Ugboma said Wike planned to make a public spectacle of Amaechi to deny him the chance of serving in President Buhari’s cabinet.

One of the spectacle, he said, include the judicial panel of inquiry established to indict Amaechi using false, cooked up reports.

“They came up with plans to destroy one after another, all the laudable projects that Amaechi did, all were setup, accusing him that he stole so much money from even the institutions that he dealt with, but all were lies.

He added, “A panel of inquiry was set up and the reports that we brought out from the transition committee was sent to the Justice Omereji panel. Remember, this Omereji later turned out to be the man who stopped the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State from being on the ballot in 2019.”

But Wike said he thought the CMD was a HIV patient, and hence avoided him.

According to him: “I was very careful not to go close to him. He was never the chairman of a committee, let alone with the Judicial powers to indict somebody. He said he wanted to be a commissioner and we didn’t give him.

“Anyone who starts abusing me, the Minister will give him something. That was how he became the CMD of UPTH.

The governor said Senator Andrew Uchendu wanted to go back to Senate and he stopped him, adding that If he tries again, he will still stop him.

He accused Uchendu of pocketing NDDC funds meant for the construction of roads in his village, adding that he awarded the road to Julius Berger, and will shame him on the day of the flag off.