Wike: I’m in Charge, We’ll Vote against Enemies of Rivers

*Sanwo-Olu inaugurates 7th flyover in Port Harcourt

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the state will vote against any politician who does not recognise its political capability ahead of the 2023 general election.

This as Wike has reiterated that those who looted the treasury of the state will not be supported to become governor of Rivers State, adding that presently, he is fully in charge of the state.

The governor made the declaration yesterday at the inauguration of the Orochiri-Worukwo (Waterlines junction) Flyover by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in Port Harcourt.

According to Governor Wike, the dynamics of contemporary politics has made it unpopular to just gift votes away without the assurance of derivable benefit for the people.

He said: “If you say Rivers State does not matter, Rivers State will tell you that you don’t also matter at the appropriate time. If you don’t like us, we will not like you. If you like us, we will like you.

“Nobody will use our votes for nothing. Our votes will matter, and Rivers State must benefit from anybody that we are going to support.

“Politics now is no longer just vote for somebody; it is about what you will do for the people of Rivers State.”

Wike pointed to how difficult it will be for anyone to upset the voting pattern of Rivers State and support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He added: “My guest from Lagos State let nobody tell you story that anybody will come here to win as governor of Rivers State. It will not happen!”

On the treasury of the state, he warned that: “Those who looted the treasury of the state will not come here to be governor of Rivers State, and I have challenged them.

“I am fully in charge. I am not that kind of governor people will go to Abuja and hold meetings against. I am fully in charge here,” he said.

Governor Wike also challenged those criticising his development strides to rather show what capacity they have by executing projects and invite prominent persons to inaugurate them.

He explained the invitation of the Lagos State governor as not the first time persons of other political parties were invited to inaugurate projects in Rivers State.

Inaugurating the completed seventh Flyover, the Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, commended Wike for his commitment to the delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State.

Sanwo-Olu said: “I would like to specially commend my brother, Governor Wike, for his strong commitment to the delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State, a commitment that has been recognised by all and sundry, and which has earned him the appellation of ‘Mr. Projects’ within and outside Rivers State.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu said though him and Wike belong to different political persuasions, the invitation extended to him sends a very strong message that politicians and political leaders can come together across political and ideological divides for the good of the people.

“There is also a strong message being made today about expanding our capacity to play politics without bitterness. This symbolic gesture by my friend and brother is one that should become standard practice across Nigeria.

“There is also a lot that we can learn from one another, and experience that we can translate from one part of the country to the other,” he said.

Governor Sanwo-Olu added: “Ultimately, we are all in governance to touch the lives of the people for good, and to deliver to them the dividends of democracy. There is no doubt that Governor Wike has spent his last seven years focused on this, just as we have similarly been doing in Lagos State.”

In his remark, Regional Manager of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Juergen Fischer, noted that history had been made with the opening for public use the seventh Flyover awarded to them for construction.