Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike said Nigeria is now on life support and needs urgent help before it’s too late.
Wike stated this on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Isaiah Odoli/Omerelu Streets in New GRA Phase 1 in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.
He said the APC-led government has plunged the country into economic disaster. He added that Nigerians are now regretting dethroning the PDP in 2015.
Wike said: “The exchange rate has now got to N510 to a Dollar. When they took over, it was N150 to a Dollar. They said they’ll give employment. Do we have employment today? Are your children employed?”
According to Governor Wike, Nigeria is now on life support and requires prayers from well-meaning Nigerians in order to salvage the county.
“Since APC came into power, you can now see what Nigeria has turned to. Each day you wake up, you hear people are being killed. If you watch television and read the news in newspapers, you will hear so and so number are killed or kidnapped in so and so state.
“That is not what I thought all of us needed. The country is on oxygen (life support). Nobody knows what will happen next. As we are today, Nigeria is in dire need of help. Nigeria needs prayers; to our mothers and sisters, you must kneel down and pray to God to salvage this country.”
Governor Wike also stated that the APC-led federal government has not done anything in Rivers state for the people.
He described as untrue the claim by the federal government that it is jointly executing the Bonny-Bodo Roads.
“The only thing they are arguing now is that they are doing Bonny-Bodo Road. No, with due respect, that’s not correct. That road was supposed to be done by NLNG and the federal government. NLNG brought their N60billion, federal Government did not bring any Kobo.
“Now they are trying to use the tax that NLNG is supposed to pay to do the road. The tax would have been shared from the federation account and part of the money would have come to Rivers State. So, the federal government cannot say that they’re the one doing Bonny -Bodo road. All of us are jointly doing the road.”
Speaking further, Governor Wike stated that every road in the Old and New GRAs have been rehabilitated under the Urban Renewal Programme of his administration except the Orugbum Crescent in the new GRA.
The motivation, he said, is to restore the beauty, and serenity of those government reserved residential areas. According to him, henceforth, no street traders will be tolerated along those roads because their wares will be impounded.
Wike also announced that the ban on open grazing in the state will soon be given legal backing to protect Rivers people from marauding herdsmen.
He said the Anti-Open Grazing bill will be sent to the State House of Assembly.
He said: “You can’t go to the farm anymore, those who rear cattle, they’ll not allow your crops to grow. Let me say clearly, now that the House of Assembly has come back, we have to submit the bill on Anti-Open Grazing as we agreed in the Southern Governors Forum.
“So that everybody must understand it, it’s clear, without any hesitation, we must do it to protect our farms, to protect our women, to protect our youths so that nobody will go and kill them.”
However, former Senate President, Senator David Mark, who was at the evernt, said Rivers people are very lucky to have a governor who fulfills promises made and provides an infrastructure with a human touch.
