By Austin Ogwuda
“We will henceforth use any lawful action necessary to call Mr. Nyesom Wike to order and keep him from tearing down the institutions that represent the corporate existence of Rivers State and Nigeria. Rivers and Nigeria will not be allowed to buckle under the oppressive, vexatious and destructive tendencies of one man whose philosophy is: DESTROY WHAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL”
A pan-Rivers group of Patriots known as The One Rivers Initiative (ORI) has outrightly condemn the utterances and conduct of Mr Nyesom Wike, former governor of Rivers State presently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
The group in a press statement entitled, ‘NYESOM EZEAWON WIKE: HOW NOT TO BE A PUBLIC SERVANT’ signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Victor Burubo obtained by The Townhall on Tuesday reads:
“We begin with the recently concluded Congresses held by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP across Nigeria. It must be stated that Mr Wike not only organized an illegal congress in Rivers State against existing court judgments, but in his normal braggadocious manner, announced himself as the undisputed “monarch & owner” of the structure of Rivers PDP.
“What an affront to the Rule of Law in Nigeria! Never in the history of Nigeria has a Public Servant assaulted and assailed public decency like the behavior of Wike in Rivers State.
“Wike not only made caricature of the Party Congresses, but cleverly attempted to lure Gov. Fubara to conduct a parallel congress, thereby using same to achieve his nefarious intention to announce a division in Rivers PDP, justifying the decampment of his stranded House of Assembly Members. The calmness from Rivers Government pulled the rugs out of his devious feet. The earlier Wike and his co-travelers knew that Rule of Law & Democracy are intertwined the better for the health of our democracy the better.
“The worse happened when Wike, like a clay footed emperor and in a show of intolerance and arrogance threatened to destabilize States across Nigeria where Governors hold contrary views to his. This is indeed an issue of national security concern. It is our believe that the DSS and other similar security agencies should have by now called Wike to clarify this statement. There must be a limit to political sophistry and brinkmanship in Nigeria.
“A nation that is in a critical security situation like Nigeria”, the statement contained, “can no longer turn blind eyes to individuals who behave as if they are greater the State.
“History and humanity cannot afford to go back to 1643 to 1715 when Louis XIV equated himself to the State. Wike must be reminded that Nigeria runs a democracy. Even where modern nation-states still have receding colours of monarchies, their powers have been curtailed so drastically. Wike cannot take Rivers and Nigeria back to those periods of absolutism.
“The One Rivers Initiative, ORI, will henceforth use any lawful action necessary to call Mr. Nyesom Wike to order and keep him from tearing down the institutions that represent the corporate existence of Rivers State and Nigeria. Rivers and Nigeria will not be allowed to buckle under the oppressive, vexatious and destructive tendencies of one man whose philosophy is:
“destroy what you cannot control”
“This to ORI is a patriotic duty and we intend to do it without fear of intimidation”, the statement added.
