Rivers State's Governor Wike repeats his threat that anyone visiting should write a will

RIVERS State governor Nyesom Wike has reiterated his stand that anyone visiting the state should first of all draw up their will in what critics are lambasting as an outright call for violence and lawlessness.

 

Earlier this month, Rivers State held rescheduled parliamentary elections but the poll was marred by bloodshed, violent clashes and general lawlessness as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters clashed. There were also skirmishes with security agents, which left several soldiers dead and at least one member of the Nigerian Youth Service Corp was killed.

 

Elections have been cancelled in certain constituencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) is expected to announce fresh dates for the polls. However, Governor Wike had declared that anyone visiting the state for a rerun should first of all write their will.

 

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television in Port Harcourt, Governor Wike defended his statement, saying it was in reference to those who might have sinister intentions. He added that it will be difficult for another party to defeat the PDP in the state because of its presence there and his administration’s modest achievements in its short period in office.

 

According to Governor Wike, Rivers State residents were determined to vote for the PDP because of his achievements in the last few months in office. He noted that despite the poor federal allocation to the state, his administration was able to complete projects.

 

Governor Wike said no distractions could make him abandon his campaign promises to the people, pointing out that the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) had increased to between N9bn (£31.5m) and N10bn from N4bn. He added that if there was a high rate of insecurity in the state, as reported in some sections of the media, the IGR would not have increased because investors would have run away.

 

Governor Wike said: “It is difficult for anybody to defeat us in Rivers State because of the projects I have done in my short stay in office and the fact that Rivers is a PDP state. The civil servants are happy with us as nobody would be happy when, at the end of the month, they cannot take their wages home.

 

“We have done much to fulfil our campaign promises. If you go to Borokiri, where the former governor was living at Okaki Street, everybody was afraid to go there because of bad roads but today, we have fixed the road and the people are happy."