Gov Wike absent at Bodo-Bonny Road flag off

Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt

The conspicuous absence of the Governor of Rivers State at the flag off of the Bodo-Bonny Road on Thursday by the Vice President of the Federation, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has been described as justification of the carryover of his alleged hatred and plot to under-develop the Niger Delta Region

This assertion was made by All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State Chapter. The party in a press statement released Friday in Port Harcourt accused the governor of plots to ensure that the project did not see the light of the day.

The statement which was signed by the Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, alleged that Governor Wike had a few days before the ceremony “issued a sinister statement entitled ‘Rivers State Government warns Headmasters/Principals of Primary/Secondary Schools in Bonny LGA, Rivers State not to allow the APC-led Federal Government and NLNG Use Your School Fields For The Flag Off Of Bonny-Bobo Road’ through his new Commissioner for Education, Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja, an Ibani son, where he threatened fire and brimstone that any principal or headmaster that allowed his or her school to be used for the ceremony will be summarily dismissed.”

The APC statement continued: “Initially, the flag-off of this project which is the most exciting news to any well-meaning Rivers State person in many years was slated to hold at Government Girls Secondary School, Finima, Bonny. This led to the decision of construction giants, Julius Berger Nigeria, to look for alternative venue at Shell Gate for the event.

The Chairman alleged: “All these evil attempts and acts by Wike is just a carryover of the several attempts under the Jonathan’s administration to ensure that this project did not see the light of the day and despite all his efforts to frustrate the event, the flag-off of the Bonny-Bodo road project turned out to be a monumental success and to demonstrate his frustration, he has threatened to dethrone the A‎manyanabo of Ancient Grand Bonny Kingdom, King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, Perekule XI and all the Royal fathers and sack all the political appointees of his administration that attended the historical event.

“Governor Nyesom Wike’s absence during this epochal event simply tells the world of his hatred for any form of genuine development for Rivers State and the Niger Delta region and affirms the stand of Dr Dakuku Peterside the D-G of NIMASA that he is the worst Governor among all the Governors in Nigeria,” according to the statement.

The APC in Rivers then described the flag-off of the construction of the Bonny/Bomu Road/Bridges in Rivers State by the APC led Federal Government not only as monumental, historical, unprecedented but an exhibition by President Muhammadu Buhari that he was a true son of Niger Delta region.

The party stated that the event demonstrated that President Buhari “was not like Dr Goodluck Jonathan and Gov. Nyesom Wike who claim to be sons of the region but did/doing everything humanly possible to frustrate the development of the region.”

The APC thanked the Buhari administration for the project adding that when fully executed the project would open the gateway for economic growth and diversification of the economy of Bonny and its environs and ensure drastic reduction in boat mishaps which had taken the lives of countless people and barred many from coming down to engage in meaningful businesses for the benefit of those in the region and Nigeria at large.