The Rivers State Civil Society Organisations (RIVCSO) has lambasted Governor Nyesom Wike for his overly generous donations to some states in the country while residents are suffering.
This follows the governor’s recent donation of 200 million naira to Kaduna State after his consultation for the PDP Presidential ticket on Monday and other previous donations including the pledge of N600 million to support Akwa Ibom State to build a hospital in Ona local government area, on May 27, 2021 among others.
In a statement in Port Harcourt, the Spokesperson for RIVCSO, Solomon Lenu said the trend was worrisome given that the governor prefers to donate millions of naira to other states when retirees in the state were yet to be paid their pension arrears and gratuities.
According to him, “The news of yet another N200 million to Kaduna State is one that struck the heart of the Rivers State Civil Society Organisations.
“This is so worrisome because up till this moment as we speak, the demonstration school teachers are still not paid after seven years, even after two court victories.
“The pensioners of Rivers State have not been paid their gratuity after numerous protests, even when a lot of them had died.”
Continuing, he said, “We don’t know the yardstick for which he is doing what he is doing. We don’t know the reason for which he has chosen to carry on through this part. We don’t know the rationale behind what he is doing. But we must say it as it is.
“Rivers people are going through the worst moments of their lives under this current administration. We have witnessed a government that does not care about the welfare of the people.
“For seven clear years, there has been no social intervention, no social support, no employment or even promotion of the existing civil servants.
“What we see every day is the donation of millions upon millions to other states, while the people of Rivers State are dying” he added.
Lenu said Wike has failed to better the lives of the people that brought him into power, noting, “We can still remember that Rivers people fought the security agencies. They put their lives on the line, some lost their lives in 2019 to ensure that the mandate they gave to the governor is maintained.
“Unfortunately, this is how the governor has chosen to pay back the people of Rivers State who sweated and suffered stress and blood to ensure that his mandate was redeemed.”
He urged residents to condemn Governor Wike’s leadership in totality, stating that, “this is not what leadership should be.”
