Wike: Let’s Not Provoke Rift Between Rivers, Bayelsa
Edith CHUKU
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has said that nothing should be done to provoke any form of rift between Rivers and Bayelsa states.
The state commissioner for information and Communications, Chris Finebone, in a statement made available to TNN that the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri should not forget the bond that is keeping the two states.
“It will be unthinkable to imagine that Gov. Duoye(sic) Diri did not know or has suddenly forgotten the history of Rivers and Bayelsa States. It is said that when providence throws up some persons to a position of leadership in a society, they may destroy the family bond due to their deficient perception of life.
The Rivers State government further stressed that, “It must be said that the appreciation Gov. Wike openly expressed for President Buhari was never meant to be a call for governors of the Niger Delta states to be probed or a demand for the governors to give account for monies paid to them under the 13% derivation fund.
“Far from it! It was an open expression of appreciation and nothing more. Governor Wike has a right to express his opinion. How other governors understand a rather straightforward statement and the many interpretations given to it are entirely their business.”
The government’s position may have been as result of comments by Diri, that it takes much more money to construct a quality road in his state than what it takes to construct four flyovers in other parts of the country. He did not, however, mention any state.
But when the governor of Rivers State was reacting personally to it, he was full of anger against Diri and threatened that whatever Diri would see in future, he should take.
His comment has been interpreted to mean that the speculation about Wike’s threats to work against Diri’s re-election in next year’s election may have been true afterall.
