Governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike has declared that the 2023 general elections will prove to many the strategic political importance of the state.
He said the state cannot continue to be a dumping ground where the interests of the people are considered inconsequential.
Wike spoke at Elele Civic Centre, venue of the flag-off of construction work on the Elele Internal Roads in Ikwerre Local Government Area on Monday.
He urged people to understand that Rivers State stands very strong in the scheme of national affairs, which is why it is given that when the state gives anybody support, it should be reciprocated.
The Rivers governor said instead of people to address their minds to that reality, they were rather issuing political threats against the state.
He warned those issuing such threats in Abuja to have a rethink else they will have problems.
Wike said Rivers remained the bedrock of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999, provided it with bulk of votes and logistics than any PDP state in the country.
The governor insisted that if there was no Rivers, there would not also have been a PDP, but despite the state’s contributions, there is nothing of note, in terms of project that can be reckoned as benefit to justify the support.
Wike pointed to how Rivers refused to enter into negotiation with the APC-led federal government as done by other states and did not give President Muhammadu Buhari 25% votes in the 2019 election despite the heavy military presence in the state.
He explained that Rivers ranks above other states, and they should shiver when it is talking.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Rivers governor disclosed that some politicians have started mounting pressure on the National Assembly to speedily pass the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)’s N500B budget.
“Since NDDC was established, look at the money that has gone into NDDC. What can we show for it? The NDDC has become a cash cow for politicians. The President has just inaugurated the new board of the NDDC. You know what is going on now? There is N500B budget for NDDC. Election is coming from 25th February, Now, what the politicians have done is to put pressure on the National Assembly so that they will pass the N500B budget for NDDC,” he said.
He explained that some politicians with vested interest in the 2023 general elections have already determined how the NDDC budget would be siphoned, and if they succeed, the region will further suffer.
Wike said it was regrettable that those who superintend over the affairs of the NDDC are sons and daughters of the oil producing states, yet the commission has never deemed it appropriate to seek the input of these states in its budget preparation.
He said the Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice has been notified to challenge some perceived fraudulent provisions of the budget, such as the allocation of N60B for building a spurious safe haven for a particular security agency and N4B for cleaning of gutters, in court.
The governor lamented that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has been rendered redundant, as supervision of the NDDC has now become the role concern of minister in charge of the ministry.