From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has urged Nigerians to be more careful in the choice of who they entrust with the responsibility of governing Nigeria, particularly members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said this is because the APC-led Federal Government has set Nigeria 20 years backwards in just six and half years of its misrule.
Governor Wike made the assertion at the inauguration of the Rivers State Government Safe Home performed by the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, in Borikiri, Port Harcourt, yesterday.
He pointed out that it was only states controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that were preoccupied with the provision of dividend of democracy.
“The other people (APC) are only fighting themselves about direct primaries and indirect primaries. We (PDP) are busy about delivering dividends of democracy. You can see, the difference is clear.
“Your Excellency, I’m happy that you’re the one who have come, because you’ve invited me severally to Akwa Ibom State to commission projects. I’m happy and I want to say to everybody that PDP governors are doing very, very well. So, we must be careful of dealing with those who are not serious. A party that that has set our country 20 years back. We must be very very careful.”
Governor Wike said that it was wrong for most governments to forget to include the well-being of the most vulnerable in the society in their programmes. He claimed such reluctance stem from the fact that they do do consider it in their place to provide services and programmes for the protection of the less privileged.
“We are only interested in constructing roads. We are only interested in constructing schools, hospitals and the rest of it. But one important aspect that government forgets is the less privileged, the vulnerable.
“We do not think that we owe them that duty to also protect them. It is key that every government should take this as a special project.”
Governor Wike observed that most times when issues of violence is discussed, the focus is only on women as the only victims even when boys are often assaulted by women.
He stated that the services at the Safe Home should also be available to male victims of violence and not women alone.
Performing the inauguration, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel, noted that Governor Wike has blended ideas, creativity with available financial resources to achieve his landmark infrastructural development, while also catering to the needs of the vulnerable in the State.
He agreed with Governor Wike that governments get busy with infrastructural development, capital projects, thinking about the economic prosperity of their various states, and often forget the downtrodden and those who need help much more.
“Port Harcourt is one place that if I miss coming in six months, by the time I come back, I would have seen a lot of changes.
“When you want to know a State that is forward moving, forward looking, that has a lot to deliver, that has a governor that’s forward thinking, such a State, whenever you go there you don’t lack seeing construction sites.
“There is no single time you come to Rivers that you won’t see a construction site where people are working. And then, people will be talking of unemployment. Find out on one site and see how many youths are employed. How many people they are catering for.
“So, it’s just how to jump start the economy and get things working. So, trust me, PDP can manage the federal government and jumpstart the economy very well.”
Again, Governor Emmanuel spoke of Governor Wike as a party man who makes them proud, and always occupies a space in the things that they do.