Wike to APC’s Tonye Cole: Return Rivers $50m first

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has sunk his teeth into the guber ambition of two riverine aspirants, one from each of the main political parties.

The governor has demanded that the consensus riverine aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, must first bring back Rivers $50m before thinking of becoming the next governor.

He has also insisted that a People Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant, Farah Dagogo, must stand trial for offences that touch on non-bailable bars. He alleged Dagogo procured suspected cultists to disrupt a party screening exercise, a charge for which the gubernatorial aspirant has been docked by a Port Harcourt magistrate till May 9, 2022, and now further to May 23.

Speaking at a church service to thank God for the Supreme Court victory over 17 oil wells, Wike who is contesting for presidency said Cole would have to first answer to what had happened to the $50 million his Sahara Energy Company received through the Access Bank from the Rivers State government when Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, was governor.

The governor, who said he was not against anybody aspiring to be governor of the state, said Cole must first give account for the money he allegedly received from the Amaechi administration.

Read also: Disputed oil wells: Rivers’ interest wasn’t victory over Imo- Wike

Wike charged: “Whoever knows him should tell him. $50million was taken from Rivers State Access Bank account and transferred to Sahara Energy account. And I asked them, what is the job you people did for Rivers state? Can I see the contract paper, did you people loan us money?”

He accused the former governor (Amaechi) of attempting to bring his business partner to become governor of the State, repeating his charge that they have both sold and bought assets of the State including gas turbines.

“You think you can sell this state. The former governor thinks that he can bring his business partner, after you have sold all our gas turbines, Olympia Hotel, collected our $50million cash.”

The governor threatened: “People think we will sit here and you will sell our state. Nobody can sell this state. Nobody can make this state his personal estate. A governor must be somebody who wants to develop this state, not somebody who wants to put the state in his pocket.”

On Dagogo who is languishing in detention, Wike thundered that the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Ijaw National Congress (INC) was a waste of time, saying Dagogo is standing trial on two-count charge of conspiracy to felony and cultism.

He said the right thing for them to do would have been to come to government and find out crux of the issues.

Governor Wike talked about criminals that raped women, kidnapped people and did several crimes. He said some of such characters are now asking to be allowed to live above the law with the lifestyle that they are lords who cannot suffer any consequences of their actions.

According to Wike, Farah would have lived within the bounds of the amnesty offered him by the Federal Government instead of returning to acts that threatened the peaceful conduct of the PDP screening exercise.

Wike thundered: “Enough is enough of all these young boys, thinking that they can take everybody for granted and overrun the state, not when I’m a governor of this state. You can do it when another person is a governor, not while I’m here.”