SpicyTricks

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has been accused of not making a single policy statement for the oil-rich state six weeks after assuming of-face.

Rather, according to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Dakuku Peterside, the Wike-led administration has appointed committee led by Nimi Walson Jack to de-sign a blueprint for the running of government long after it had taken off.

Addressing newsman yesterday, Peterside said the move suggests “the case of a rudderless state manned by persons whose only bond to the state is to siphon our resources.”

He noted that candidates were imposed on Nigerian people by the 'sheer pleasure of a lady, mindless impunity and brute force.'

Peterside said: “I had hoped that the government would chart the path of peace, unity and progress with the aim of earning the much-needed credibility, but fellow Rivers men and women have been disappointed.

“Unfortunately, they have taken the silence and peaceful disposition of our people as a sign of weakness and license to behave irresponsibly.

“The average politician will expect me to keep quiet and focus on the le-gal process of addressing the wrong done to the moral of the democratic fiber of Rivers people. I have given deep thought to this and have chosen to discard the path of comfort and to speak up whenever the need arises.

“To ignore what is going on will be a great disservice to Rivers people whom I have volunteered to serve and who gave their all despite the fact that they were, with associated violence, denied the basic right of casting their votes. If I choose the path of comfort and self-preservation, history will not be kind to me. Posterity will judge my actions and inactions.”

He further chided the Wike administration for contaminating the political and moral environment, starting from the campaign era to the pre-sent, even as he accused it of dishonesty, self-inflicted credibility problems, violence and vendetta.

“No government that chooses this path can earn the trust of the people. This is the reason why no responsible elder or founding father of the state wants to be associated with this government,” the APC governor-ship candidate said.

Peterside's said his immediate concerns which necessitated the press conference are: “Too much dishonesty on the path of the government to hoodwink Rivers people. For instance, allegations of empty coffers is a spurious tale, as even Mr. Wike, by his own admission, has been announcing various funds that he located in different government ac-counts.

“His false claims of using Julius Berger for the refilling of potholes when what he has been using are local contractors and paying them peanuts; his use of the Berger name was simply a red herring to enable him to loot public funds.

“Obvious lack of commitment to the development of Rivers State. A case in point is the security situation, which has continued to deteriorate with criminality promoted at the expense of the safety of our people. Kidnap-ping and armed robbery are now rooted and government is doing nothing.

“Poor understanding of public finance and questionable management of public funds as is evidenced in the borrowing of N30bn in 30 days.

“Elevation of impunity to a new level and crass manipulation of institutions as exemplified by the needless local government council crises being orchestrated by the government.

“Illegal dissolution of state institutions created by the constitution with tenured security. Ready examples include the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Local Government Service Commission, Civil Service Commission and the Rivers State House of Assembly Commission.”