Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, has debunked alleged sidelining by Governor Nyesom Wike from COVID-19 programmes.
Her denial was contained in a statement by her Head of Media, Owupele Benebo, reacting to a statement, by a group, entitled “COVID-19: Stop sidelining your deputy, she’s a public health professional.”
Banigo said she had enjoyed cordial relationship with her boss since 2015 the Governor Wike-led government came into office.
She said the public should discountenance the fake report, which was intended to mislead unsuspecting Rivers residents.
“It is important to set the records straight, so that right-thinking members of the society would not be misled into believing this falsehood.
“We would like to state categorically, that there is no iota of truth about Governor Wike’s alleged sidelining of his deputy, Banigo, as regards COVID-19 or, indeed, any programme or policy of the state government.
“She has continued to enjoy a cordial and robust relationship with the gender-friendly Governor Wike, from the inception of this administration in May 2015, to date. So, the purported sidelining of his deputy is a mere figment of the imagination of the group,” Benebo said in the statement.