2023 elections will prove strategic political importance of Rivers State, says Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the 2023 general elections will prove the strategic political importance of the state.

He said the state could not continue to be a dumping ground, where the interests of the people are considered inconsequential.

Wike spoke yesterday at Elele Civic Centre, venue of the flag-off of construction work on the Elele internal roads in Ikwerre Council.

He urged the people to understand that Rivers State stands very strong in the scheme of national affairs, which is why, according to him, it is expected that when the state gives anybody support, it should be reciprocated.

Instead of people to address their minds to that reality, Wike said they were rather issuing political threats against the state. He warned those issuing such threats in Abuja to have a rethink, else they would have problems.

Wike said Rivers State has remained the bedrock of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999, providing it with bulk of votes and logistics than any other PDP state in the country.

ALSO, the governor said some politicians have started mounting pressure on National Assembly to speedily pass the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) N500 billion budget.

He said: There is N500 billion budget for NDDC. Election is coming from February 25. Now, what the politicians have done is to put pressure on the National Assembly so that they will pass the N500 billion budget for NDDC.”

He claimed that some politicians with vested interest have already determined how the NDDC budget would be siphoned, saying that if they succeed, the region will further suffer.

Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, according to him, has been notified to challenge in court some perceived fraudulent provisions of the budget, such as the allocation of N60 billion for building a spurious safe haven for a particular security agency and N4 billion for cleaning of gutters.

Speaking on the project, Wike told the people of Elele that the road network in the town would be reconstructed as part of appreciation for their support to his administration 2015.