The Rivers State government yesterday issued a stern warning to a faceless group orchestrating a campaign of calumny against Governor Nyesom Wike.
Members of the group, described as political detractors, appeared vexed over Governor Wike’s role in the collective demand by the five governors (G-5) of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) for fairness, equity and justice in the party.
Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, who briefed journalists in Port Harcourt in yesterday, displayed an unsigned well worded document bearing the sinister plot of the group.
“This is the evidence of the plot to blackmail Governor Wike. This is the document, and it is titled, ‘proposal with hashtag, to end Wike rascality programme,’” a statement by the governor’s media aide, Kelvin Ebiri, stated yesterday.
According to the statement, Finebone declared that the development was not totally unexpected by the government and the governor, adding that the sad thing about it was that those behind it had decided to remain faceless.
He said: “We encouraged them to remove their mask and show themselves as the governor and the government is equal to the task of responding to them adequately.”
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He pointed out to the fact that the state government already had an idea of the identity of the political detractors orchestrating the campaign of calumny against the governor.
According to him, they are individuals within the party. He then challenged them to reveal themselves if they are convinced of what they are doing and bold enough for the fight they are seeking.
“They can’t even sign it (the document) to push for this. It is important we warn them. It is important we also warn Nigerians about this scheme. We expect more of them to come. But I can assure you that the governor and the G-5 would rise to the occasion as they continue to start this type of campaign of calumny,” he said.
Finebone also talked about another decision of the state government to seal off the premises of the EUI Event Centre located along Sani Abacha link Road within the Government Reserved Area (GRA) Phase 3, Port Harcourt.
The EUI Event Centre, he said, had refused to heed several warnings from the government instructing its operators not to allow their activities block the road without the requisite approval.
“The management of EUI Events Centre had refused to refrain from blocking an entire stretch of Sani Abacha link Road, GRA Phase 3 without government approval,” he said.
He declared that the Rivers State government had, with effect from December 7, 2022, sealed the events centre at the GRA Phase 3, Port Harcourt.
According to Finebone, owners of event centres in the state fail very often to plan for their guests’ vehicles, how they are parked and how other road users would use the same road.
He noted that they simply block the road and do not care about the consequences and shunning candid advice to them to curtail such public nuisance.
He said: “Government cannot fold its hands and watch people exercise impunity to the highest level by appropriating property governments built with taxpayers’ money just for their own personal use and comfort. Government must protect all.”
Also, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Austen Ben Chioma explained the decision followed the last Wednesday’s obstruction of free flow of traffic on the road by the management of the EUI Event Centre.
This, he noted, was in variance to promises they made to the government that they would ensure that traffic wardens control traffic properly in order not to punish other road users.
“But to the greatest surprise of the Rivers State government, today’s event was held there, there was no road for road users to pass and road users were complaining bitterly.
“I got the information, and I went there myself and I saw that the road was totally blocked. I told the owner of the place that this cannot be tolerated. And she said that she has done her best and she cannot kill herself,” he said.
