Wike, third right, visited the graveside of the victims of Benue mass killings. Photo credit: Oraye St Franklin
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has taken a swipe at the Governor Nyesom Wike, accusing him of ‘playing Robin Hood politics’ in his Wednesday’s condolence visit to Benue state.
APC in a statement by its Spokesman, Chris Finebone, said it was shocking that whereas victims of killings and criminality in various parts of Rivers State are licking their wounds and wondering where help will come their way, Wike has gone to visit and donate N200 million belonging to Rivers State to victims of killings in Benue State.
APC said that lofty as the gesture seems, however, what the governor has only succeeded in doing is classical and wanton display of primitive hypocrisy of the worst type.
The party recalls that beyond what it described as “the highly politicised, self-serving and half-hearted visits to Omoku recently”, the Governor has completely ignored killings in various parts of Rivers State especially in the local government area of his PDP national chairman – Andoni.
APC says that the governor has neither mentioned nor visited Ajakajak and other Andoni villages where several persons have been gruesomely killed up till January, 2017.
“Why has the governor not gone to visit victims of killings in Rivers State and donate to their welfare but chose to travel to distant Benue State to display crass duplicity? APC demands an answer from Gov. Wike.
“Quite disappointing to the APC is that some prominent Rivers indigenes (some of whose people are being killed here in the State) joined the governor to Benue State and even prayed at the graveside of the victims while their own people are being killed in Rivers State without any intervention by Gov. Wike and his government.
APC said it believes that the only purpose for the governor’s ego trip to Benue State is mainly to score cheap and pedestrian political points that have no value whatsoever to Rivers people.
“He is only working in line with his belief that he is the de facto leader of PDP. Our people consider the current doling out of N200 million of Rivers money as part of the billions of Naira Gov. Nyesom Wike is spending to sustain and exercise control over his political party – the PDP.
“The APC calls on well-meaning Rivers elders and opinion leaders to prevail on Gov. Nyesom Wike to refrain from playing Robinhood with Rivers money. He should use the commonwealth of Rivers people to give the people meaningful development and not the brick and mortar roundabouts and superficial so-called projects he is deceiving the people with.
“Having openly donated money, we call on the federal government and her security agencies to keep an eye on Gov. Nyesom Wike so that he does not donate ‘other things’ secretly given that reprisal attacks are already happening in Benue State,” the party said.