Wike: We’ve met to increase my Special Advisers to 100,000

Southern governors supporting him eating from crumbs

 

 

Emmanuel Thomas  l Friday, October 14, 2022

 

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – The River State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike has said he has met with his aides earlier today and agreed to increase his Special Advisers, SAs to 100,000.

Wike who initially appointed 14,000 SAs and over 300 liaison officers which he increased to 50, 000 was speaking on a live media chat with Channels TV, AIT, NTA and TVC.

He said poverty in the nation is too much and that it is the duty of government to reduce poverty and empower people.” If we have money now, we are going to increase the Special Advisers to 100,000, if the next government cannot cope, they can reduce it”, he said, adding that River State has 19 liaison offices.  He said those he has appointed are not civil servants but political appointees.

Wike said how much they are paid is not the business of anybody. “When they are paid you can ask them. They are political appointees not  civil servants. We met this morning, we are going to 100,000 appointees”, he emphasized.

He added that his people are very happy with the appointments and that he is receiving text messages from people who want to be part of it.    “Poverty is too much in the land. If you don’t have  work will you fill your stomach?”, he queried.

Wike said the problem with Nigeria is  leadership and that integrity matters in leadership, ‘standing by what you say’. According to him,  chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu has no integrity, having said he will step down if the Presidential position goes to the North.

“Section 7 (3c)  of the PDP constitution says all positions must be zoned, they zoned chairman to north, what happened to the Presidential position, the two major position have now gone to the North”, he said, quoting an Igbo popular saying, Ibiri oo Ibiri Kambiri,  Live and let me live, take and let me take, Ibiri Ibiri Kambiri, if you take everything it is problem.  The constitution did not say when you win”, Wike said, stressing that people who don’t know something about polling unit are the people interpreting PDP constitution.

He charged the PDP leadership  to stand for equity, fairness and justice.  “If you don’t want it you are the one causing crisis and then you don’t have leadership skill, this is the time to show leadership skills on the part of the party, Atiku is the one that feels the pain now.

“If he wins, what role will the chairman play.  If after he wins, who  will be there from the South to represent interest of the south in making appointment to determine, who will be who”, he queried.

The governor who said he does not speak without evidence challenged  Ayu to come out and say he did not collect N1billion. Wike who said  Ayu also collected millions of dollars from a governor said but for the love of the party he would have released something shocking about the party.

“If not for the love of this party, if we release what we have, Ayu’s children will go to him and say you are not our father”, he said.

He challenged Ayu and his cohorts  to show  the minutes  of the meeting where the money returned was approved.” You made over N14 billion, ask them how much they spent for Ekiti election.

He said that he and his fellow travers in PDP are trying to help the party to remove the moral burden of integrity.  “He said if the presidential goes north, he will resign. If we are pushed to the wall, what you people will hear will be terrible”, he warned.

Wike said  he is fighting because of denial. “We are fighting because  you are denying my people their own right”, he said and that those coming should talk to him about the interest his people, “that is what you should talk to me about and not just the interest of the party”, he said, and that those “from the south supporting Ayu are hypocrites eating from the crumbs”, and called on PDP to zone the chairmanship position anywhere in the south, “that is all”, he said.

He said he is campaigning for the PDP in River State with his projects and that the Executive Order 21, which he signed makes it imperative for political parties campaigning in the state to get approval after payment to enable them use infrastructure in the state. He said money paid will be used to undo any damage when the rally is over.

“Chairmen of local governments have been given authority to stop any rally without approval”. Wike who said he has made concession by  his refusal to leave PDP, called on the other side to do the same, warning that South West governors are formidable enough if they  say they are leaving the party.  He said the Ayu teams are a bunch of arrogant people  who  don’t care whether the party wins or loses the election.

On alleged revocation of AIT land in River State, the governor declared that AIT has no property, adding that the day they are able to show allocation paper, government will be willing to pay any damage to the station. “Show allocation paper now, if you show it , rivers state government will pay any damages claimed”, he said, stressing it has no political implication since the process was on before Atiku became candidate of the PDP.

He said his wish is to do a ring road connecting Okirika to Eleme, down to the airport and that he has spoken to Julius Berger. “They are doing the design with a cost of N70 billion. They are still surveying, but we will recommend it to our successor”, whom he said will definitely be a PDP governor.

On debt profile of the state, he said, “there is no debt that I will incur for my successor” and that loans he obtained from Access Bank Plc for infrastructure will terminate in November this year and another from another bank will terminate before he leaves office.

“There is no project I have started without paying . Even the one we are doing now I have paid 50 percent, I don’t do projects without money”, he said.