Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said that come 2023 general elections people will come to terms with the strategic political relevance of the state.
He said the state is no dumping ground for politicians and political gladiators, and never will the people of the state be treated as politically inconsequential to the overall political strategy of Nigeria.
This the governor said at Elele Civic Centre, venue of the flag-off of construction work on the Elele internal roads in Ikwerre Council.
Wike said River State is political important to Nigeria’s developmental affairs, there fore should not be ignored or undermined.
He also said that, anyone the state supports must also in turn reciprocate the good gesture to the people.
The governor further said that political threat to the people of the state is the least thing anyone should thing off, rather they should look deeply into the interest of the state. And that, those issuing threat to Rivers from Abuja should have a rethink, else the conflict between them and that state will persist.
Wike also affirms the state contribution to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999, as one of the major financial, providing it with bulk of votes and logistics than any other PDP state in the country.
The governor said some politicians are seriously on the neck of National Assembly because of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) N500 billion budget, to be quickly passed into law.
“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 said.
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.
