By Celephina Onovo
The All Progressive Congress (APC), Rivers State chapter, has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of spending a whopping N15.5 billion to ensure that his candidate, Uche Secondus was elected National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP’s elective national convention last Saturday, December 9, saw Secondus being elected to lead the party.
But the state’s APC said Secondus election was made possible because Wike lavished the Rivers scarce resources on him at the convention.
In a statement on Monday, the party described it as shocking, unfortunate, unacceptable and condemnable.
The party said the frittering away of the Rivers money will not in any way benefit the people of the state.
“We are truly miffed and embarrassed about the damning report reaching us indicating that Governor Wike wasted a whopping sum of N15.5 billion of Rivers State funds to finance the candidature of his stooge, Prince Uche Secondus, for the office of the National Chairman of PDP,” the party said in the statement signed by the State Chairman, Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.
The statement further alleged that in addition, Wike spent another staggering N7 billion to secure favourable judgment for the erstwhile Ahmed Makarfi Caretaker Committee of PDP during its tussle with the party’s former National Chairman, Ali Modu-Sheriff.
The party, therefore, urges the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) “to immediately step in to investigate all these alleged diversion of the public funds of the people of Rivers State into unprofitable ventures and cause those concerned to account and assist to retrieve these sums in order to end the unimaginable ordeal of the good people of Rivers State in Wike’s hands before he completely liquidates the State.”
The Rivers APC statement said: “Supporting the inglorious role that Wike may have played in the PDP Convention, former President, General Badamsi Babangida some days ago cried out of the plot to monetise the PDP Convention.
“In the same vein, Chief Bode George, erstwhile Deputy National Chairman of PDP and one of the Chairmanship candidates had to withdraw his candidature stating that the Yoruba people have been maligned, denigrated and debased by Governor Wike, and that Wike must offer an unreserved apology to the Yoruba race for debasing them.
“This act has created dark picture between the Yorubas and the Rivers people and we wish to dissociate ourselves as a party from this unfortunate act. This public show of bizarre undemocratic acts spearheaded by Governor Wike that portrays our State in such unacceptable bad light is condemnable.
“Further linking our dear Governor with such heinous undemocratic act of circulating a UNITY LIST containing the names of winners of the convention even before the commencement of the convention that made Prof. Tunde Adeniran the only candidate from the South West left to contest the election to reject the conduct of the election exercise even before the result was announced repositions PDP as a party doomed and Governor Wike as its nemesis.”
The Rivers APC described as shameful, a situation where Wike abandons governance in Rivers State, denying the State dividends of democracy, only to use Rivers funds to play Father Christmas in his dying party.
Continuing, the statement said: “We have always been aware of the notoriety of Governor Wike in acts like this, so we are not surprised that he is today derisively referred to as The Port Harcourt ATM by PDP top stakeholders on account of his huge financial inducement as he is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to take full control of PDP ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“Governor Wike has a reputation of heavy financial inducements; his name has cropped up in every major political bribery saga since 2015. He was caught on tape compromising and threatening INEC officials who were in the State to conduct the several re-run elections and most of the victims of his financial inducement are currently either in jail or dead.
“Sadly, back home in Rivers State, the government owes a lot of backlog in salaries to civil servants and arrears of pension to pensioners. The Governor is also known for embarking on low-value projects spiced up with massive media coverage. He has destroyed our education by recalling our students on scholarship overseas, etc, in addition to several other atrocities.”
Rivers APC said it would have asked the State House of Assembly “to investigate all these anomalies but, unfortunately, we have an Assembly that only sits when the Governor wants it to sit.”