Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike vows to resign from office

As Two Former APC Chairmen And Others Join PDP By Davies Iheamnachor Rivers State Governor, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has vow to resign from office if the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, can name any federal project he has brought to Rivers State as a minister since 2015. Wike in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media Kelvin Ebiri, following the formal defection of two former chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr. Davies Ikanya and Hon Igo Aguma, as well as other chieftains of the opposition to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

The governor explained that Amaechi, who is his predecessor, had claimed that he sold a Dash 8 aircraft bought by former governor, Dr. Peter Odili, to the Cross River government at a price of $6 million but failed to account for the proceeds of the transaction. Similarly, the governor disclosed that through intelligence information, the state government was able to trace the state government's Dash 8 aircraft, which was also bought by the Odili administration, to Germany, Governor Wike said Amaechi's tenure as governor was characterized by financial disloyalty.

To buttress this, the governor alleged that the $308 million paid by Sahara Energy to acquire the state's independent power projects was diverted by the minister. The governor, who spearheaded several projects he brought to Rivers State when he was Minister of State for Education under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan urged Amaechi to emulate him by reviving the ailing Port Harcourt seaports to create employment opportunities for Rivers youths.

  

Governor Wike narrated that but for his intervention, the former Commissioner for Urban and Rural Planning, Dr. Reason Onya, who recently defected to the APC, would have been charged with murder after he was indicted by a judicial panel of inquiry investigating a multi-story building that collapsed in Port Harcourt, claiming several lives in 2018. The state PDP chairman, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, said the defection of Dr. Ikanya Aguma and others marked the formal burial of the opposition party in Rivers State. Dr. Davies Ikanya said he could not in good conscience remain in a political party built on deception, citing the reason for his defection from the APC he founded in Rivers State.

According to him, all the expectations that the APC will provide security, job opportunities, and a better life for Nigerians have turned out to be mere mirages. Meanwhile, Ikanya, who remains the only elected Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, said it was unfortunate that the party had been hijacked by individuals who put their personal interests far above the party. He used the opportunity to apologize to the governor and the people of Rivers State for bringing the APC to the state which has been peacefully governed by the PDP since 1999.

 

The former Chairman of the APC Management Committee, Hon Igo Aguma accused Amaechi of brainwashing him and others to join the APC. He called on the Attorney General of the Federation to immediately investigate the finances of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2016 and 2019.