…Denies converting Rivers State to personal estate
… We’re all guilty of anti-party, says Abe
Omiete Joseph
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has accused the former governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili of allegedly switching appointment meant for his nephew to his daughter.
This is as the former governor Wike has replied Odili that it is him (Odili) that has allegedly converted the state to his personal estate, describing Odili as a Bishop.
Wike who was responding to a recent comment credited to Dr Odili that ‘one person is converting the state his personal estate’, said he has never desired to own the state but his contribution has aided development in the stste.
Wike made the assertion while speaking at a luncheon he organised for his political associates and stakeholders at his residence in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
According to the former Rivers governor, “Nobody can be anything without supporting you. Oshiomole, you want to be governor, people must vote you down. Oshomole you didn’t want to be a governor, but somebody bought a form for you and said come fill it, bring it, go, you will be. You are saying that God will be well with such people. If it is the will of God, let thy will be done.
“I will not fight with anybody but my concern is you should not be an ingrate. Omehia, all of them never saw Dr Peter Odili, until one day in my house through Mercedes bus, they never knew where I was going to, we drove to Birabi Street. When we got there, he came down, Odili saw him and was angry. But I pleaded he should not be angry that what has happened, has happened, that we should work as a team.
“I pleaded with him to forgive everybody, that we have taken him as our leader. He was not happy. Even that day it was known that Omehia was in the same papal knight with Dr Odili. Today, I am seeing all of them saying our Revered leader; who is a revered leader now, you are now calling Odili your revered leader. The more they call the one who smoked you out, I will not do that.”
Recalling his root to politics, Wike stated “if you follow my political history, it has never been easy; I have been charged for murder, for armed robbery just because of politics. There is nothing I have not passed through in my life. But I know at the end of the day we will overcome.
“Leadership is not easy, somebody said no face here, that is an insult. Look at the former Ambassador to South-Korea, the former ambassador who produced a governor is not a face. Who are the faces: Omehia, Abiye, Secondus, these are persons who said he will not be governor, they are now faces?
Is it not the same person who said, we thank you for making a man who wants to create Rivers State as a medical hub in Nigeria not to have converted Rivers State as a personal estate? Based on the documentary you have watched; is there anywhere they said my family this or that. So where did I want to convert Rivers state to my personal estate?
When my father is doing something wrong, should I not papa this is not what you said yesterday, is that to make him cry. I ran in an election for Local government in 1999, and since then till now I have never lost an election. Nobody whom I supported has ever lost an election.”
Why noting that those who are praising his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara were same people who protested his being governor, said will has never regretted supporting President Bola Tinubu during the general elections.
“I have no regret for supporting Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to win the election, all these ones making noise, they told Atiku, we will fight him. How can people who came out and said Fubara cannot be governor, he cannot talk before the public, today are now the one saying we are with you. 2007 when you fought Amaechi, we chased you out.
“In 2023, you said Atiku is coming, I said where? They collected the money and kicked the man away, that the governor was killing everybody, look at me. Whatever you cannot do, say you cannot do it. I am sure if Magnus Abe had made a mistake to join them, they would have used him as their spokesperson. Time will come, everybody be yourself, we are all working together.
“How can the governor say he is not seeing any face? One day it will happen, when the time comes, we will know who is who. We will produce the second phase of the documentary, if they react in the next 24 hours, I will give them another one.”
Wike continued that “They said I should apologise for what. There is no law that said their daughter should not, but I said as an elder statesman, you should have given what belongs to your nephew to your daughter. Did I say that there is a law that said that your daughter should not be something? But you said somebody converting Rivers State to his personal estate. Is not correct, the man who is converting Rivers state to personal estate is you and to crown it up, you are now the general overseer.
I didn’t say anything wrong, so you cannot kill me for what I didn’t say. Tinubu should be careful with somebody like, Tinubu is not like you. If you are a good person, Tinubu called Rivers people, as an elder statesman he wanted you to make peace, but you came home, ordinary what you would have done is to call Mr President back and tell him how you have tried to implement some of them, is there anyway we can do the rest, rather you disobeyed.
Everything has time, he is praising the court, the same court that said all kinds of things on national television. Now when they get judgement, the judiciary is correct. When they don’t get judgement, judiciary is cash and carry. I believe everything has limits and I want all of us to believe and have confidence that the will of justice is very slow but at the end of the day it will come.”
He however, urged his supporters in the midst of political crisis in the to “continue to be patient, whether it goes on your own or not. We cannot be like them to disparage the judiciary. Judiciary is down, Nigeria is down. It might not end in your favour; it must be that it favoured me all the time. There is nothing we can do; we cannot carry arms.
So just be calm, there is something that will happen in this state that everybody will know. The ongoing movement is not a party movement, it is the movement that you will see, forget about their claims”, the FCT Minister added.
Meanwhile, the former governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in the 2023 general elections, Senator Magnus Abe has revealed that the major reason politicians defect from one political party to another is for selfish interest.
Abe said that most Rivers politicians including the Minister of FCT, Wike, committed anti-party at one time or the other.
Speaking also, at a stakeholders meeting organised by the FCT Minister, Abe said even those who are milling around the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara today are doing so because of what they can grab from him.
Magnus Abe noted that politicians are more interested in what they can get for themselves which is why they move from one political party to another. He specifically said that even the FCT minister, Wike, was involved in anti-party activities which was why President Bola Tinubu of APC was able to win the presidential election in Rivers despite being a traditional PDP state since 1999.