Why I’m at loggerheads with Wike —Peterside

For about three weeks now, the political atmosphere of Rivers State has been heated up by the verbal exchange between the state governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike and the immediate past Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

The two have been at each other’s throat with accusations and counter accusations on the governance of the state, even as their supporters intermittently line up behind them in trying to ensure that they do not lose out in the verbal war.

However, it was Peterside who first took up the gauntlet, when on December 23 he took a swipe against Wike, accusing him of playing God with Rivers people.

In an article which entitled ‘Wike Turning Himself into God of Rivers People’ and widely circulated in the state, Peterside berated the governor over the way and manner he is treating Rivers people, portraying them as lacking dignity, self-esteem and freedom of choice.

He was reacting to a statement by Governor Wike, during the flag-off of Oyigbo-Okoloma road, where the governor told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, that on no account should any member of the party from Rivers State approach him or any National Working Committee (NWC) member for consultation as regards political ambition for the 2023 general election.

Peterside was particularly piqued by the statements coming from the governor that he (Wike) was solely in charge of the state and that nobody could achieve anything politically without him approving it.

The governor further declared that he was completely in charge of the state and that anybody who went out of the state to consult with anybody had already lost his chances.

Reacting to the statement, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general election, said Governor Wike, because of power which he was holding in trust and his access to the commonwealth of Rivers people, was now turning himself into the “god of Rivers people who must be worshipped, begged, praised and appeased, if good fortune is to smile on them.

He said: “Wike’s egoistical and authoritarian leadership style is the reason Rivers State is the way it is today. His Commissioners are scared telling him the truth. Wike’s unfounded and vainglorious arrogance is the reason why there is fear among his party members as the governor has become he who must be obeyed.

Peterside lamented that the people of Oyigbo were being treated as a conquered people, pointing out that it took six years for the governor to flag-off the road that is a major artery connecting Abia, Ogoni axis and the rest of Rivers State.

“Arrogance, greed, quest to acquire all properties in Port Harcourt and lack of respect for elders of Rivers State will be the beginning of Wike’s downfall. Wike literally prostrates and worships traditional rulers from other parts of the country but disgustingly disrespects traditional rulers in Rivers State with such disdain.”

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