The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former DG/CEO of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, has once again berated Governor Nyesom Wike for failing to pay retirees after several appeals from well-meaning members of the society.

On Wednesday, retirees protested to the Government House Port Harcourt for the umpteenth time, begging the governor to pay them their pension, gratuity and all other outstanding allowances.

Since 2015 when Wike assumed office, retirees have protested every year and in some cases for days, calling on the governor to pay them their legitimate rights.

Peterside said on Thursday that Wike is being “wicked, stubborn and irresponsible” over his refusal to pay those who have worked for the progress of the state for all of their adult life.

He wondered why a governor, who has spent money to bribe INEC officials, donated money to other states, among others will refuse to pay people who are old enough to be his mother and father.

Said he in a statement by his media team: “It beggars believe that a governor who has received over N1 trillion in the last seven years is unable to pay his own people, some who even voted for him. Never have we had it this bad in the history of our state.

“We have a governor who has turned himself to a god, who must be worshpped and obeyed without question. How else can one describe a leader who is deaf to genuine demands by his own people?

“While our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who have retired are dying in their numbers, the governor is expanding his acquisition of properties all over the state in a mindless and obscene manner. This is really sad and a poor reflection of everything our founding fathers dreamt.”

The celebrated turnaround expert called on the retirees and Rivers people to know who is their true enemy and respond massively at the appropriate time.

Dr Peterside warned that if the governor does not immediately attend to the pains and anguish of the retirees, he would lead Rivers people to occupy the Government House until their demands are met.

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