By: Felix Ikpotor
Chairman of Eleme Council in Rivers State, Obarilomate Ollor has denied accusing the state governor Nyesom Wike of collecting five billion naira from companies operating in the area for the repair of the dilapidated portions of the Akpajo-Eleme axis of the East West Road in the state.
People of Eleme and Ogoni have been protesting on the road since Monday over the refusal of the federal government to fix the road.
Ollor made the denial in a statement by his Press Officer, Chinwi Ate.
He was reacting to a social media post by one Mfata Mfata, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state wherein he allegedly misinterpreted the interview he granted some media houses on the bad state of the road and posted that the council chairman said the sum of N5 billion was raised by companies operating in the area and handed over to Wike.
Mfata according to the statement on his verified social media handle said: “: “Eleme Axis Of East-West Road:
In 2015, the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike tasked companies operating in this area to pay various sums of money to fix that axis of the road…in fact, the Chairman of Eleme LG Council confirmed yesterday that N5 billion was raised by these companies and same was handed over to Governor Wike.
Is it not proper for protesting youths to take the protest also to Government House, Port Harcourt to ask Governor Wike to account for that huge sum of money?”
But the council chairman described the statement by Mfata as untrue, malicious and politically motivated.
Statement said “the Executive Chairman of Eleme LGA Chief Obarilomate Ollor did not at any point said the sum of N5billion Naira was raised and same handed over to Governor Wike as peddled by Mfata Mfata and his cohorts”.
It frowned at the deliberate attempt by Mfata to use the office of the council chairman to ridicule the personality of the Executive Governor of Rivers State, describing such as a political gimmick taken too far.
The statement further cautioned Mfata to henceforth desist from such obnoxious act and retract the falsehood he’s been peddling via his personal Facebook handle or face legal action.
