A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has expressed displeasure over plans by the Federal Government to honour Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike with an infrastructural award.
Eze said the prosposed award should be rescinded and investigation launched into the Wike-led administration, which he said reeks of “corruption.”
In a statement made available to media houses in Port Harcourt, the party Chief
said “he read with misgiving” the report that Wike has been nominated for the “Distinguished Award in Infrastructure Delivery” at the forthcoming Nigeria Excellence in Public Service Award by the Federal Government.
He said he feels “embarrassed, emotionally tormented and troubled to learn that a government that almost caused him his life has concluded plans to honour a bigot whose only achievement in eight years is the erection of 12 over-bloated flyovers in Obio/Akpor, his home LGA and nothing more.
“The cost of each of those flyovers, some of which are still at their elementary stages of construction, can build four to five flyovers in any part of the country.”
Eze noted that instead of the federal government to engage in the cascading corruption and siphoning of public funds through these needless projects, it is busy “fanning the embers of mediocrity by rewarding self-enrichment through public funds, stealing, graft, incompetence ethnocentrism, loud nepotism, sheer loquaciousness, and drunkenness.”
The erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rescind the proposed award stressing that Wike, who he said “has been hiding under the veil of a perpetual court injunction to evade investigation into the odoriferous corruption perpetrated under his administration,” does not merit such recognition.
Eze said, “SaharaReporters recently published that a source at the Rivers State Government House who spoke on Friday said millions of Naira was paid to some officials of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, to facilitate the award.
“The source added that there was presently mass mobilisation of Rivers State people to Abuja to attend what he described as the fake award.
“We have started mobilising many people from Rivers to attend the award. Millions of Naira exchanged hand between the governor and many people in the SGF office. Apart from Port Harcourt, Wike abandoned the rest of Rivers State.
“Forget all you read on pages of newspaper, they are all scam. He hasn’t paid teachers in months. Retirees are owed while the governor and his wanted accountant-general who he wants as successor stole billions of Naira.”
The party Chief said it was unwise for the Federal Government to recognize Wike, who he said had a “myriad of corruption allegations on his neck.”
According to him, “As at today, the governorship Candidate he foisted on the PDP, Mr. S. Fubara, still holds sway as an employee of the state government (civil servant) and this is against the rule of neutrality in the civil service.
“He neglected the Supreme Court judgment which de recognized Celestine Omehia as a former Governor, concocted a law, recognized him just to undo his predecessor, and all of a sudden, he has unmade the law to derecognize Omehia because the later has found for himself a political direction up north.
“Everything he does is against the law yet he belongs to the Body of Benchers. This calls for question.
“It is the resources of the state that is stressed here and this should be a source of concern to the federal government.
“If Wike should be honoured because he built 12 Flyovers within one major road in a Local Government Area, Obio-Akpor, then what award will the FG give to Governor Umahi of Ebonyi State who has built 16 flyovers scattered in almost half of the Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State? What Award are we to give to the Governor of Borno State, who, not minding the insecurity ravaging his state, is changing the face of Borno State. What about the Governors of Delta, a silent multi-sectorial achiever? What of the CRS State Governor who sees tomorrow, what award are we to give the Lagos State Governor whose inputs have surpassed all the inputs of the last administrators of Lagos State?”
Eze maintained that the proposed award has an obvious political undertone and urged President Buhari to halt the award to save his name and integrity including “most of our members killed in order for Wike to assume powers.”
“Maybe the award is to compensate the Rivers Governor for destroying the educational facilities and industries built by the administration of Amaechi and making Rivers State one of the capitals of poverty.
“Maybe the recognition is for depriving pensioners their due, after making sacrifices and putting-in decades of service to society, and subjecting them to abject poverty. Or maybe it is to applaud him for not building one industry to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in Rivers State and weaponizing poverty,” Eze stated.
The APC chieftain further asked, “Is the award to thank the Rivers Governor for killing industries such as the Rumuosi syringe factory, the famous Songhai farm, the Buguma fish farm, the Tai Banana plantation, and several others which had thousands of Rivers people under their employ and yielded good revenue to the state?
“Maybe the award is to compensate him for abusing and insulting President Muhammadu Buhari at every given opportunity and for describing his government as one of the worst ever in the annals of history of this country.
“Is the Award to compensate him for all that he has done to slow down PDP in her drive towards 2023?
“Maybe the Award is to be given to him in order to lure him to APC after ensuring the destruction of APC in Rivers State.”
