The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has said that the
decision of the Nyesom Wike’s administration to abandon some of the
peoples’ oriented projects started by the Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s
administration is responsible for the state of helpless witnessed in
the state.
The APC in a statement by its state Publicity Secretary, Chris
Finebone, said that contrary to claims by Governor Wike, it gave no
preconditions to the olive branch offered by the Governor.
The statement read in part, The attention of the Rivers State Chapter
of All Progressives Congress, APC, has been drawn to a recent
statement by Gov. Nyesom Wike that our party requested the completion
of projects by the previous administration as pre-condition for
accepting the olive branch offered by the Governor in his broadcast.
No such pre-conditions were issued in whatever form, publicly or
privately.
For the avoidance of doubt, we stand by the suggestions made through
Distinguished Senator Andrew Uchendu at a Press Conference as the way
out of the present state of insecurity our dear State is wallowing in.
We have no doubt that if the Wike government had not abandoned, but
improved upon the security architecture put on ground by the Amaechi
administration including the C4i infrastructure, if the various human
capital development projects and programmes such as foreign
scholarships were not abandoned/discontinued but continued, and
consolidated upon by the Wike government; if the various projects such
as RSSDA, Songhai Farm, Banana Farm, Buguma Fish Farm and many others
that provided employment for our people were not abandoned or
destroyed by the present government; the present killings and
large-scale insecurity would have been stamped out or, at least,
stemmed significantly. We believe that the widespread hopelessness and
despondency bedevilling our youths is, to a high degree, the cause of
the present insecurity pervading our land.
We unequivocally insist that these suggestions freely offered remain
suggestions and not pre-conditions in any way. Our interest remains
the wellbeing of the people and all residents of our dear State.
Rather than the APC give pre-conditions, it is the governor that has
given the acceptance of his olive branch as a pre-condition for taking
definite, concrete and altruistic steps to ensure political harmony in
the State. We accepted the olive branch in the belief that such
political harmony will engender peace, security and development in the
State. The inaction following our acceptance and the recent twist of
facts by the Governor tend to confirm the cynicism of some APC members
who questioned the sincerity of the offer.
We would like to assure the people of Rivers State and Nigerians that
we will continue to exercise utmost restraint in our conversations and
actions, regardless of the seeming public flip-flops by the Governor.
We believe that we have shown sufficient good faith and selfless
determination to contribute to the kind of peaceful political
atmosphere on which security of lives and property can be built in
Rivers State. No sacrifice will be too much to make in this regard. It
is up to Gov. Wike and his government to acknowledge and reciprocate
our good intentions and prove cynics wrongly.