Governorship aspirant and former director-general of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has again berated Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for failing to pay retirees despite appeals from well-meaning members of the society.

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

Dakuku, in a statement made available to newsmen, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, accused Wike of refusing to pay those who have worked for the progress of the state for all of their adult life.

He wondered why the governor, who donated money to other states would refuse to pay people old enough to be his parents.

Peterside alleged that since 2015 when Wike assumed office, retirees had protested every year and in some cases for days, calling on the governor to pay them.

He said: “We have a governor who has turned himself to a god, who must be worshipped and obeyed without question. How else can one describe a leader who is deaf to the genuine demands of his 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.”

He called on the retirees and Rivers people to know who their true enemy and respond massively at the appropriate time.

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 were met.