The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has said Governor Nyesom Wike is taking the people for fools over what the party termed as dishonest campaigns.
This was contained in a statement released in Port Harcourt, by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone.
The party said: “No sooner Wike was sworn in as governor of Rivers State than he embarked on indiscriminate borrowing at cut-throat interest rates from Nigerian commercial banks. The borrowing spree was carried out despite the fact that APC’s governorship candidate, Dr Dakuku Peterside, was contesting the emergence of Wike in court.
“Wike’s borrowing extravaganza assumed a frightening dimension as soon as he got a favourable Supreme Court judgment affirming his election.
“While Wike engaged in his borrowing bonanza, the Rivers State chapter of the APC consistently raised the alarm that the governor was borrowing away and mortgaging the future of Rivers people. It cautioned him to have a rethink. However, all our advice was brushed aside by the governor.
“On July 1, 2015, APC uncovered and raised the alarm that there was a strategic plan by Wike to obtain N100 billion loans in the few months he was expected to be in power (in case he lost at the courts…), thereby plunging the state into an abyss of debt and economic servitude.
“APC warned that Rivers State residents had ended up in the notorious Lagos buses used in robbing unsuspecting passengers, popularly called one chance.
“On each occasion, the governor offered future state’s monthly allocations from the Federal Government as collateral security, spread against less than 40 months of his 48-month tenure. When the governor exhausted the Federal allocation window, he was forced to use future dividend earnings from Indorama Petrochemical Company at Eleme as yet another collateral security. The governor only stopped after borrowing over N100 billion and could not find any more collateral security to obtain further loans.
“Instead of keeping it honest with Rivers people by acknowledging that he has borrowed away the people’s future, the governor looked into the eyes of men of God that surrounded him at the Synod of Anglican Diocese of Etche on Sunday and told them what can pass as the most daring white lie of the century. He accused the Muhammadu Buhari administration of reducing his government’s monthly Federal allocation to undermine his administration.
“We ask: Is it that Wike forgot what happened? Did he think we have all become so foolish that we have forgotten that he actually borrowed away Rivers State monthly allocations in advance?”
Rivers APC advised Wike to be careful of where he takes his dishonest campaigns, especially in the churches.
