The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, and the All
Progressives Congress have disagreed on a meeting held by the party with Acting
President Yemi Osinbajo.
Wike had accused the leadership of the APC in the state of
misinforming Osinbajo that they were holding a party meeting in Port Harcourt,
only for them to “turn around and claim” to be holding a Niger Delta
stakeholders’ meeting.
The APC, however, explained that there was no pretence about
the meeting with Osinbajo, adding that some segments of the Rivers society were
not given the opportunity to express their views at the stakeholders’ meeting
with the Acting President on Monday.
The governor had
lauded the Osinbajo for setting the record straight when he proclaimed the APC
slogan and explained that he was at the event to meet his Rivers APC family.
Wike made this remark on Tuesday while addressing former
Ndoni APC members, led by Chief Ofili Enebeli, after their defection to the
Peoples Democratic Party in Port Harcourt.
The governor noted that the successful official engagements
of the Acting President to Rivers State sent shivers down the spines of
political mischief makers, who he alleged, had been spreading falsehood about
the state.
Wike stated, “Just because the Acting President slept in
Rivers State and went round our projects confirmed that this man (Wike) is Mr.
Projects; they (the state APC) suddenly became troubled.
“They persuaded the
Acting President that there will be the need for him to talk to APC members. I
have no problems with that. Mr. Acting President is a member of the APC. But
governance is governance.
“When they got there, they renamed the APC meeting as
stakeholders’ meeting. Shame! Shame! It was not Rivers stakeholders’ meeting
and it couldn’t have been.”
The state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris
Finebone, however, explained that some civil society organisations were
sidelined from the earlier stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House.
Finebone pointed out that the situation informed the meeting
with the Acting President, adding that it (meeting) created a platform for
those, shut out of the stakeholders’ meeting on Monday, to present their
position.
The APC spokesman added, “Our response to the governor on
this matter is that we cannot help their heartbreak over the presence and the
speech the Acting President made at the meeting. It was a stakeholders’
meeting, but you might say that there were other interest groups there.
“The town hall meeting on Monday was technically hijacked
and this saw to the sidelining of other groups. Today, (Tuesday) we have
members of the civil society organisation, who presented their views.”
“We were able to get Etche people to present their views.
After we noticed the deliberate attempt to deny some segments of Rivers State
the opportunity to present their views, we decided to provide a platform for
others to present their positions.”
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