The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as “disgusting tissue of lies” Governor Nyesom Wike’s recent comment that President Muhammadu Buhari told him during his recent visit to Aso Rock that he (Buhari) was under intense pressure from Rivers APC leaders to declare a state of emergency in the state.

The APC stated that President Muhammadu Buhari never complained to Wike of any pressure to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.

In a statement on Monday by Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Media Consultant to the Rivers State APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, further expressed shock that “Governor Wike could bring the exalted office of the Governor to odium in such a reckless manner to ascribe to President Buhari something he never said.

“To the best of our knowledge, the three issues that Wike discussed with Mr. President were the issues of the Ogoni Clean Up, the Nkpogu Junction incident with Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi where attempt was made on the life of the Minister. The other issue discussed was the detention of Wike’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) for one week,” party said.

It therefore urged Governor Wike not only to call himself to order but formally apologise to President Buhari for ascribing words he never uttered to him to score cheap publicity always associated with him.

APC said: “Wike exhibited his trade mark when he granted audience to the outgoing Anglican Bishop of Niger Delta Province last Friday where he falsely ascribed to Mr. President words he never uttered and further abused and incited Nigerians against the President stating that Buhari considers the lives of cows more precious to that of the lives of Nigerians.”

The APC quoted Simeon Nwakaudu, the Governor’s Special Assistant on Electronic Media as saying: “In other climes if ten persons are killed, the President visits to personally assess the situation but here in Nigeria our country has become a security nightmare with 73 persons killed in Benue and mass burial organised for them, with the Presidency acting as if nothing happened. Human lives are not respected. In fact, the lives of cows and chicken appear to be more important than human lives. This has nothing to do with politics. Let us not trivialize the catastrophe that has befallen Nigeria.”

The party said: “With these inciting words, one can easily state that it is Wike that is courting for state of emergency in Rivers State. This notwithstanding, let us reiterate that nobody is interested in declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State not minding the abysmal failure of Wike to ensure protection of the lives and properties of Rivers State people.”

The party observed that Wike in his last Saturday’s outing with Rhythm 93.7 FM “told the world that he was briefed by someone very close to him in his office that he can talk to Don Wanny and his boys to keep calm just after the killings in Omoku but he said No, that their time was up. If this is not vindication of our stand that Wike’s administration has been hobnobbing and romancing with this deadly gang, let him tell the world who this fellow very close to him that he suggested that he should discuss with Don Wanny is.”

The party stated that, nobody is fueling insecurity in Rivers State but the Governor himself. “If not, let Wike tell the world where he kept all the arms the Rivers State government claimed to have collected from cultists and militants and explain if these arms are not part of the arms kept to arm his yet to be formed Neighborhood Watch.”

The party concluded by stating that, “Wike need to be watched if our nascent democracy is not to be truncated by his ambition to once again impose himself on Rivers State to the detriment of the growth and industrialisation of Rivers State as envisioned by the APC regime if elected.”

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