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Tag: Wike

  • Wike unveils plan for tourism development in Rivers

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has reiterated his commitment to develop the tourism potential of the state.

    The governor, in a meeting with journalists on the sidelines of the recently concluded National Festival of Arts and Culture held in Port Harcourt, said there was a need to constantly showcase the cultural heritage of Rivers and to manage its tourism potential in such a way as to enhance its economic growth.

    He said, “Rivers State has a rich cultural heritage and the potential to emerge as a first class tourist destination. For this reason, I have said that every year we must host a major cultural activity in the state. In doing this, we hope to showcase the cultural and tourism potential of the state to the rest of the world.

    “Everything must not always be about politics. I believe that culture and tourism are also very important. Politics has failed this country, in terms of unification of the people. The only unifying factors today are culture, tourism and sport.

    “We have built the Jim Rex-Lawson Cultural Centre in Port Harcourt, for example, for the purpose of developing the tourism potential of this state. I dare say that there is no other facility of its kind in any part of the country.”

    Wike said that the state government had entered a deal with some of the major artistes in the country, which required them to occasionally visit the state and showcase their talents at the centre.

    “If you visit the Pleasure Park, you will understand why we are keen on tourism development. If I have a potential and I don’t let the world know about it, then I have a problem. I have to do anything necessary to promote culture and tourism in RiversState and that is what I will continue to do,” he said.

    The governor also said that the only obstacle standing between the Rivers State Government and its plan to transform Port Harcourt into the ‘Dubai of Nigeria’ was the Federal Government.

    He explained, “We have a solid plan to develop tourism in Rivers State and we believe it should grow, but we also have a limitation in a sense that this plan is dependent on the government in power at the centre.

    “If you have a Federal Government that is hostile to the state government, how can you achieve it? You can’t achieve it. And that is not what is supposed to be.

    “So, having the will or plan to develop tourism is different from actualising it because of the hostile attitude of the Federal Government. We must be able to tell ourselves the simple truth.”

    Speaking on the need to introduce culture to the school curriculum in Nigeria, Wike said that no meaningful progress could be achieved without placing emphasis on the teaching of culture and history in schools.

    “I think that culture should be embedded in the educational curriculum. How can I have a child who doesn’t know the culture of his people? Culture is part of development and growth. So, it is important and quite necessary to let our children learn about the cultures of the various ethnic groups in Nigeria,” he said.

  • 2019: I didn’t nominate Peter Obi as Atiku’s running mate – Wike

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has denied nominating former Anambra Governor Peter Obi as running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

    Wike said the visit of four South-South governors to President Muhammadu Buhari had no political connotation, noting that the governors were in the Presidential Villa to discuss the development of Niger Delta.

    He spoke in an interview with Channels Television Roadmap 2019.

    Wike said: “I never nominated Peter Obi. But the mere fact that the Vice Presidential Candidate is coming from the South-East does not give the zone the sole right to nominate a person , since the entire country will benefit.

    “When the South-East said they were not consulted before Peter Obi was nominated, where did we meet as a party to agree that the Vice Presidential Candidate must come from the South-East. But we said if the Presidential Candidate believes he has somebody to work with, we said so be it “.

    On the new minimum wage, Wike said the review could only be sustained when the nation’s revenue sharing formula was reviewed.

    “I will never oppose the upward review of minimum wage for workers. But the revenue sharing formula must be reviewed. Assuming a state like Zamfara gets N3 billion monthly, and their monthly wage bill is N4 billion, then the state will not survive. Labour should understand the situation.’’

    “You cannot talk of sustainable new minimum wage when you have not reviewed the revenue sharing formula. More of the money should be moved from the Federal Government to the states that bear the burden of governance. If there is no review of the revenue sharing formula, then we are not being fair.”

     

  • 2019: Wike makes U-turn, declares ‘total support’ for Atiku against Buhari

    2019: Wike makes U-turn, declares ‘total support’ for Atiku against Buhari

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said he will support the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to ensure he defeats the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.
    Wike, who acknowledged supporting the Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, during the just concluded PDP presidential primary in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said he has no regret supporting Tambuwal.
    “I supported the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal fully. I have no regrets for my support for Tambuwal.
    “But the party has made a choice and as a loyal party man, I stand by the choice of the party. I will support His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar to victory in 2019,” a statement from the Government House, Port Harcourt, quoted Wike as saying on Sunday in Port Harcourt during a thanksgiving service for the successful hosting of the PDP national convention in the city.
    The statement was issued by the governor’s media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu.
    “That is what is called party loyalty,” Wike added.
    The governor made a case for all the party leaders, members, and supporters to come together and work for the victory of the party’s candidate, Atiku, in the 2019 election.
    “We must put our heads together to ensure that this bad government is sacked. We must ensure that this bad government goes in 2019.
    “If this same government returns in 2019, then Nigerians are digging their graves. The suffering now will be a child’s play. That is why we must work for the good of our people,” he said.
    The PDP, he said, would surely win in Rivers in 2019.
    Wike said he insisted that the convention be held in Port Harcourt because of the benefits it was going to bring to the local economy and the fact that “Rivers has been the home of PDP since 1999.”
    “Rivers State has made PDP proud and we shall continue to make PDP proud. God lives in Rivers State,” he said.
    The PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, called on Nigerians to support the PDP.
    “Let us take back our country from destruction,” Secondus said. “Everything about this country has collapsed.”
    He said Mr Abubakar is the best candidate to drive the country to growth and prosperity.
    “APC will be finally buried in February 2019,” he said.
    Recall that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku, scored 1,532 votes at the convention held on the October 6 and 7 to defeat 11 other aspirants.
    His closest rival, Tambuwal, scored 693, while the senate president, Bukola Saraki, came third with 317 votes.
    Immediately it became clear that the former vice president had won the primary, Wike walked over to where he was sitting to congratulate him, and then exited the convention venue with his supporters.
    During his victory speech at the convention, Mr Abubakar said he looked forward to working with Mr Wike, apparently underscoring the governor’s influence in PDP and in Nigeria’s South-south region.
     

  • Wike now acting 'alpha, omega' of PDP – APC

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has become the sole administrator of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    It said it was now obvious that the governor had become the party’s defacto National Chairman, spokesperson and sole administrator, who determines what happens in the PDP.

    The APC said this in a statement signed by the acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, in Abuja on Sunday.

    He alleged that since Nigerians rejected the PDP which ruled the nation for 16 years, it had become obvious that there was nothing democratic about PDP’s policies and practices.

    “As events has shown, it is a misnomer to call the party, Peoples Democratic Party as there is nothing democratic about its policies and practices.

    “The PDP to all intents and purposes has become the theatre of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. Since assuming office after the disputed 2015 Rivers Governorship election, Wike has assumed the role of de facto PDP National Chairman, sole administrator, spokesman, organising secretary and BoT Chairman.

    “Recall Governor Wike’s imposition of an erstwhile PDP National Chairman without a formal convention and the leaked telephone conversation of Governor Wike (allegedly) threatening to kill INEC officials he had paid to rig the rivers rerun election in favour of the PDP.” Nabena said.

    The APC also alleged that the governor recently threatened to teach the PDP presidential aspirants, including the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, the APC spokesman said.

     

  • 2019: Rivers Govt knocks Tinubu for linking Wike with Tambuwal’s presidential ambition

    The Rivers State Government on Monday berated a former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for linking Governor Nyesom Wike with Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s 2019 presidential ambition.

    Recall that Tinubu had on Sunday in a statement stating why some high profiled defectors left the APC accused Wike of luring Tambuwal to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the promise of getting him the PDP presidential ticket.

    In a statement he issued in Port Harcourt on Monday the State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Emma Okah, said Wike has a culture of respecting elders, including Tinubu but accused the leader of not reciprocating the gesture.

    According to Mr Okah “Governor Wike has not discussed the political ambition of Governor Tambuwal with Senator Tinubu any day and so Senator Tinubu cannot rely on mere rumour to speak unfairly about the governor in the way he did.”

    Okah said Mr “Tambuwal is a matured adult who has the capacity to take critical political decisions for himself without prompting from Gov Wike.

    “When as Speaker of House of Representatives, Governor Tambuwal defected from the ruling PDP to the APC, why did Senator Tinubu not say that Governor Wike had a hand in it at that time or is it because it favoured Senator Tinubu’s APC?”

    The commissioner urged elders to “exercise restraint at times like this.”

     

  • BREAKING [APC crisis]: Wike, Ortom meet Saraki in Kwara

    BREAKING [APC crisis]: Wike, Ortom meet Saraki in Kwara

    The Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike has arrived Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, for official and pro-Nigeria engagements.

    Wike is accompanied by Senator George Sekibo, Senator Adawari Pepple and the member Representing Tai/Eleme/Oyigbo Federal Constituency, Dr Barry Mpigi.

    He is attending a meeting in Kwara state with his Benue counterpart, Governor Samuel Ortom who recently announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress, APC, for a yet-to-be-determined political party.

    The two governors are attending a meeting with Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Kwara state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed.

    Recall that the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, who had earlier visited Wike in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was yesterday welcomed in Ilorin, Kwara state, by a mammoth crowd on his first visit to the State after his vindication by the Supreme Court over false assets declaration charges.

  • Ekiti election: I have never seen this type of political robbery in Nigeria’s history – Wike

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that what transpired during the Ekiti Governorship Election is the worst political robbery in the nation’s democratic history.

    Governor Wike said the APC Federal Government will not be able to replicate the Ekiti Political Robbery in Rivers State because Rivers people are fully prepared.

    Governor Wike spoke on Sunday at the Anglican Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, Port Harcourt during the Thanksgiving Service to mark the end of Third Year Anniversary Celebration of his administration.

    He said: “Don’t be worried about what happened in Ekiti State. We are prepared. It will not happen here in Rivers State.

    “I have never experienced that kind of robbery in politics. I told my colleagues, do not give them any chance. Most of them in APC are happy that they will repeat the same thing in Rivers State, we are waiting, come and repeat. Let your spirit not be down, work hard and victory will be ours”.

    On the Thanksgiving, Governor Wike said that the State Government has come before God to appreciate him for a hitch-free programme, which spread across two months

    He said that the third year anniversary of his administration offered Rivers people the opportunity to witness the superlative performance over the period under the review.

    “We made sure that people who have eyes see what we have done for the state. Except those who are blind, for which there is nothing we can do about it.

    “We will continue to do the best for the people of Rivers State. The people deserve the best. This one year we will not stop doing projects, irrespective of the elections “.

    Governor Wike urged the people of Rivers State to continue to support his administration.

    In his sermon, Arch-Bishop of Province of Niger Delta, Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey lauded Governor Wike for outstanding developmental strides, saying that the Rivers State Governor has graduated from Mr Projects to Doctor Projects.

    Co-Adjutor Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Niger Delta North, Rt Rev Wisdom Ihunwo prayed God to continue to bless the Wike administration for the realisation that her source of strength is from above.

    The only reading for the Thanksgiving Service was read by the Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike.

    The service was marked by special rendition of praise and worship songs.

  • South-South Governors restate demand for restructuring , 13% derivation

    The Forum of South-South Governors on Wednesday in Port Harcourt restated its demand for restructuring and 13 per cent derivation from the Federal Government.

    Spokesperson for the Forum, Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, said after a one day meeting that the demand was in the spirit and clamour for restructuring and in line with true federalism.

    He said that the forum also demanded for a 13 per cent derivation from the one billion dollars withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account by the Federal Government for security.

    He said that the demand was in accordance with constitutional provision.

    Dickson said that the forum was not against the amount withdrawn by the Federal Government to fight insecurity in the country.

    He noted that the forum expressed support for the devolution of powers among the federating States.

    The forum, he said, called for the withdrawal from the National Assembly a bill on the management and administration of water resources.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Govs. Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Dickson of Bayelsa attended the meeting while Ben Ayade of Cross River was absent.

  • Nigeria sliding into anarchy under Buhari, APC – Wike

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said Nigeria is sliding into anarchy because of the governance style of the President Muhammadu Buhari led-led federal government.

    Commissioning the newly-constructed governor’s office in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State on Friday, Mr Wike urged Nigerians to use their permanent permanent voters cards ”to vote out the failed APC Federal Government”.

    “Nigeria is sliding into anarchy. Nigerians were deceived by the change lies. Nigerians should show that they are tired of this fruitless change,” he said.

    The governor also restated his alarm, which he made some days ago that the Federal Government was planning to assassinate him. He said the APC Federal Government has been involved in past plots to kill him.

    The presidency has dismissed Mr Wike’s claim as untrue.

    Mr Wike charged the people of Ekiti to be vigilant ahead of the upcoming governorship election, saying that they ”will be intimidated by the security agencies”.

    He urged the APC Federal Government to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan who showed that the unity of the country is paramount by conducting credible polls.

    The event was attended by Mr Jonathan; Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose; Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel and PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus.

    “Jonathan knows what democracy is all about. He never used his power to imprison the opposition. He never allowed anyone to shed blood for political gains. That is not the case today,” Mr Wike said.

    He wondered why the Ekiti State APC governorship candidate would be campaigning on ”the strength of a failed APC Federal Government, instead of his first term achievements”

    The governor commended the Ekiti State Governor for his management of meagre resources to deliver key projects.

    He said the outgoing governor has performed creditably because ”he believes in massive development in line with the PDP manifesto”.

    “We are happy to be part of PDP states commissioning key projects unlike the APC States where wheel barrows, hired tractors and bags of mangoes are commissioned,” he said.

    He said Mr Fayose will continue to be useful to the PDP even after he completes his tenure of office.

    In his remarks, Mr Fayose said the PDP governorship candidate, Kolapo Eleka, ”has a divine mandate to take over”.

    Mr Fayose said that over the eight years that he spent in the office, he (Eleka) was central to the development of the infrastructure base of Ekiti State.

    Mr Secondus warned the APC Federal Government against attempting to rig the Ekiti State Governorship Election.

    He said that across the country, ”PDP State Governors are delivering key projects to improve the lives of the people”.

    Goodwill messages were delivered by Governors, Emmanuel, Ikpeazu and Dankwambo.

     

  • 2019: Jonathan, Fayose, Wike, other PDP leaders demand credible election

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP leaders have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the conduct of a free, fair and transparent election in the country in 2019.

    Jonathan said this on Friday during the inauguration of the 1.3 kilometer Ado-Ekiti Flyover.

    The former president and other leaders present also demanded a credible governorship election on July 14.

    Sounding the battle cry ahead of the next set of elections were Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Uche Secondus.

    Also at the inauguration were Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel and Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu where they canvassed support for the PDP candidate for Ekiti governorship poll, Prof. Kolapo Olusola.

    The setting was the inauguration of a new Governor’s Office constructed by the Governor Ayo Fayose administration.

    Jonathan arrived the scene at exactly 2.22 pm when Wike was making his speech and was welcomed by other guests who were seated before his arrival.

    Although the former president did not make any speech, he is expected to speak during the inauguration of the flyover which commences at 7.00 pm.

    Secondus who noted that Ekiti has been witnessing positive development under Fayose urged the people of the state to vote at the next governorship election and the 2019 general elections.

    The PDP boss warned the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government against any attempt to rig the Ekiti poll and general election stressing that “rigging the election would have dire consequences.”

    Secondus said: “The PDP has demonstrated that it can conduct free and fair primary; all we are asking for is that the coming elections should be free and fair.

    “We are asking the Federal Government to allow the coming elections to be free and fair for the world to see that Nigeria is moving forward.

    “Any attempt to rig is a recipe for crisis, I hope it will not start from Ekiti. The 1983 crisis started from Ekiti and the (77-man APC) Committee should show us what they have done.

    “They should not come and rig election here. We are asking them that it should be one man, one vote. President Buhari should allow one man, one vote.”

    Wike said: “This loyal and humble deputy governor (Olusola) will continue with the good work of Fayose. Ekiti people will vote for him because of what he can offer.

    “The only thing they (APC) have is to rig election, they have told us the election will be free and fair. When election comes, don’t give them any chance, go and protect your votes.

    “They said they have set up a Committee of 77, what is our business with that? If you say they will not intimidate you, it is a lie but I want to charge our security men to allow for a free and fair election.”

    Dankwambo said: “If politics is about development, we need not to campaign in Ekiti State. Politics is about development and that is what we stand for.

    “I believe the person that has emerged as our candidate here will do more and more than Fayose. He is experienced and he has learnt a lot and he will deliver.”

    Fayose boasted that the APC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, would be defeated at the Ekiti governorship election despite the instruments of coercion to be deployed in his favour.

    He said: “Whether they like it or not, you (Olusola) are the next governor. If they like, let them their Army and Police, they are wasting their time.

    “It is your time to shine, battles are not won by the strength of the Army, you are a divine candidate on a divine assignment. I am proud to say I believe in you.”