Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has mocked his Kaduna counterpart, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, saying the insecurity in the latter’s state was a payback of the crisis he once plotted against Rivers.
The Governor spoke on Friday when Vice-President of Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, Rotarian Obiageli Ejezie, led other leaders of the association to the Government House, Port Harcourt.
A statement signed by Wike’s Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said the delegation was in Government House to confer on the Governor the “2019/2020 Good Governance Award” for his outstanding achievements in project execution in Rivers.
While accusing the Federal Government of instigating security crises in Rivers, Wike said Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by El-Rufai, visited the Presidency to demand the withdrawal of a Commissioner of Police from Rivers.
He said: “Now, in order to cause crisis in our state, they brought the CP they wanted. At the end of the day, God did not allow them to have their way.
“But see what is happening in his state now. When you are plotting evil against somebody, evil will visit you. And that is the problems Governor El-Rufai is facing today in Kaduna State.
“I remember when I came in 2015, when they were honouring one of their friends as a Minister on live television Channels, El-Rufai had the temerity to say that (my) election cannot stand in Rivers state and that they will kick me out.”
Wike accused the Federal Government controlled by the APC of dragging Nigeria fifty years backwards following its abysmal performance.
The Governor maintained that the APC mismanaged the opportunity Nigerians gave them to make a difference and deserve to be voted out in 2023.
The Governor told the delegation in 2015, APC convinced Nigerians they were going to offer better governance than the former President Goodluck Jonathan.
But he said: “There can’t be good governance without security and this is based on rule of law. All of us are living witnesses in 2015 when it was alleged that the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, could not perform. So Nigeria needed a change. What has happened to the change? They have taken Nigeria back by 50 years.”
Wike wondered how long the Federal government would allow the needless killings and abduction of innocent Nigerians to continue.
He said it was no longer acceptable for Nigerians to wake up daily to such ugly news of killings because they expected the government to guarantee security.
He said: “Now, you wake up every morning, students are being kidnapped in so and so State University, people have been killed in so and so State. So, it has become a norm.
“Just wake up in the morning and the first thing you will see on the front page of dailies is 10 people have been kidnapped in Niger State; 20 have been killed in Zamfara State, 5 have been killed in Imo and this happens virtually every day. So, where are we heading to?”
The Rivers Governor said his administration was doing everything possible to secure life and property of all residents in the state.
