Governor Nyesom Wike has come under attack from various interest groups in Rivers State over his recent announcement that his administration’s next policy thrust will be to empower the people by giving them the so called ‘Stomach Infrastructure.’

 

 

 

For one, the Rivers State Civil Organizations, through its spokesperson, Comrade Solomon Lenu, said the plan by Wike was as clear reminder to Rivers People that his administration has deliberately impoverished them in the past seven years.

 

 

 

“He is now waiting for the eve of the general election year to dish out tokens to the people to secure their votes,” Lenu said while warning Rivers people not to be swayed by the antics of the Governor but keep their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCS, and use it them during next election.

 

 

“We cannot afford to go through another four years of pains of impoverishment, orchestrated by unemployment, blunt refusal to pay Pensioners,open industries and payment of bursary to Rivers State Students for past Seven years.

 

 

Lenu said the stomach infrastructure plan by Wike means that the Governor know all the while that people of Rivers State had been suffering all these years.

 

 

“For almost seven years Governor Nyesom Wike killed the Songhai Farm that was empowering Rivers people.For nearly seven years students of Rivers state in various universities didn’t have any bursary.

 

 

The human rights Activist also said for seven years retired pensioners have been crying for their gratuity to no avail.

 

 

“Wike added more efforts in taking away every means of livelihood from common Rivers people, by closing down Rivers State Transport Company, RTC, Rivers State Sustainable Development Authority, RSSDA, Kelsy Harrison Specialist Hospital, banned Dispatch Riders and others.”

 

 

He regretted that under the Wike administration, Demonstration Staff School Teachers witnessed economic woes akin to hell on earth, as their salaries were stopped, and even their victories various court couldn’t persuade the Governor to have sympathy on them.

 

 

He also lamented that not a single industry was built to employ the teeming Rivers graduates that kept pouring into the labour market every year.

 

 

However, he said within the period under review Wike empowered his tiny elitist group and circle, especially the Judges who had their best time in history.

 

 

Also, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Rivers State, Lucky Ati, said: “No gratuities or accumulated arrears have been paid so far, except for monthly pension.

 

 

“Some are owed 30 to 40 months arrears of pensions are gratuities. If he wants to do stomach infrastructure that is his business. But out Pensions and gratuities are our statutory rights. It has nothing to do with stomach infrastructure.”

 

 

On his part, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Lawrence Chukwu said the developmental strides of Wike are not people-oriented.

 

 

He accused Wike of deliberately neglecting critical areas like health, creation of jobs and civil servants’ welfare.

 

 

“If some people think that because the Governor has been building overhead bridges in Obio-Akpor and Port Harcourt City local government areas are enough they wrong. We are talking of his neglect of human capital development”

 

 

Prof.Chukwu said what Wike wants to do is to throw money here and there to earn votes because elections are coming.

 

 

“And that is what he is calling stomach infrastructure,” he said.

 

 

On her part, Mrs Beatrice Itubo, Chairperson Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in Rivers State said the announcement by Governor Wike amounted to reducing the people of Rivers State to beggars.

 

 

“Since he became Governor he refused to employ people into the service. At a time he announced that he will employ 10,000 teachers which he never did. At the other time he said he will employ 5,000 people into the state Civil Service, he never did.

 

 

“If you go to the Judiciary,a room is filled with applications from qualified Rivers youths. Since he became Governor there has not been promotion in civil service, pensioners who had put it 35 years in the civil service are dying in droves daily. They are always on the street protesting for their pensions and gratuity be paid, but he refused”.

 

 

Itubo said:”Let him employ 100,000 workers and we’ll know he is serious. Workers have spent all their youthful years serving the state, pay them their gratuities you refused. You are building flyovers everywhere. Election is coming and he is talking about stomach infrastructure, are we beggars?”

 

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