I woke up this morning to see the response of Dakuku Peterside to my candid advice that he should first of all win over his maternal base, Opobo, before coming forward to lie against Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike. That advice was given in good faith. Rather than heed my advice, Dakuku Peterside decided to haul insults at me. That is his usual style.
He says my major offence is that I am a non-indigene. But he forgets that he is my colleague in the field of non-indigenes. As a prominent non-indigene himself , it is not in Dakuku’s place to malign other non-indigenes.
Since 2015, the APC has not been able to win any election in Opobo-Nkoro Local Government Area and Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency. Despite all the negative schemes and use of Federal Might to kill and maim, the people of these Constituencies have continued to resist Dakuku Peterside and his Ministerial Oga. They have without doubt, expressed their gratitude to Governor Wike through the ballot. The efforts of Governor Wike in this community are clearly enshrined in my earlier piece on Dakuku’s mischievous interview with Otunba Bisi Olaniyi of The Nation .
At the risk of repetition, he served as Commissioner of Works for four years, but was unable to link his community by road. He was unable to dualise Sakpenwa-Bori Road, the major road in his Senatorial District. I will most humbly remind Dakuku Peterside that during a campaign rally at Bori, he told APC Supporters that Governor Wike has done nothing for the District. APC members disrupted that rally shouting NO. It took the intervention of Dakuku’s Oga to admit that the Sakpenwa-Bori Road was an outstanding achievement . This was the only confession that placated the angry crowd.
My contention is simple. Dakuku Peterside has no moral authority to discuss the outstanding performance of Governor Wike. The Governor is cleaning up the mess Dakuku and his Oga left in 2015. No roads anywhere in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas, no schools across the state except a few on major roads, no potable water, no General Hospitals, no salaries and no pensions. Through careful management of scarce resources, Governor Wike had lifted Rivers State from a position of despair. Governor Wike started from the foundation in 2015. He embarked on a statewide renewal of infrastructure. If Dakuku Peterside and his Ministerial Oga had left Basic infrastructure on ground, focus would have been on different areas.
Resources meant for the development of Rivers State were used to sponsor the APC National Campaign. Former Bauchi State Governor, Abubakar and current Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong confessed to this fact on National Television. But since 2015, how many projects and appointments have been attracted to Rivers State by Dakuku and his Ministerial Oga? Rather, they they are principal officials of the De-Market Rivers State Group of Companies. They have jointly destroyed the seaports and other Federal avenues to empower the people. East West Road and other Federal Roads in the state have been abandoned by the APC Federal Government. Governor Wike has continued to intervene in Federal Projects to ease the suffering of Rivers people.
A man with the gift of deafening lies, Dakuku Peterside lacks the capacity to appreciate development. Blinded by his obsession to get the APC ticket from his Ministerial Oga, Dakuku Peterside is ready to say anything. Of course, he lacks the political structure to vie for a Governorship Ticket. He can only hope that he gets his Oga’s nod.
It is disheartening that Dakuku Peterside has never considered Rivers people in his political struggles. He erroneously thinks that once his Ministerial Oga gives him the ticket, he will emerge victorious. He should go and ask Biokpomabo Awara. The Ministerial Oga gave him Army/APC/FSARS/Federal Might structure, yet he was defeated by Rivers people.
As a fellow non-indigene, I offered my candid advice to Dakuku Peterside. He should change his technique. He has used this lying technique since 2014 and no fruits have come out of it. Rivers people know their Leader and he is Governor Wike. Dakuku Peterside should appreciate the outstanding performance of Governor Wike and move on.
It is true that Dakuku Peterside is yet to recover from the landslide defeat he suffered in 2015. Governor Wike polled 1,029,102 votes. Mr Peterside polled 124,896 votes. The people spoke very clearly. In 2023, Governor Wike will not be contesting for the position of Rivers State Governor. This is why Dakuku Peterside should look for another story, since he has no developmental credentials to present to Rivers people.
After begging and getting appointment at NIMASA, what has been his footprint in Rivers State? All he does is to grant frivolous interviews and issue baseless statements. What has NIMASA done for Rivers State under the leadership of Dakuku Peterside? Nothing.
Aside her shipping regulatory responsibilities, the agency also undertakes inspections and provides search and rescue services. Where has NIMASA rescued anyone on Rivers waterways? Have they ever assisted in improving the security of waterways in Rivers State? Never. No employment opportunities for Rivers people by NIMASA.
Dakuku Peterside should respect the fact that Governor Wike is the best performing Governor in Nigeria. There is no APC Governor that can compare to Governor Wike. He should recall that Minister-Designate, Godswill Akpabio stated that Governor Wike has surpassed the Federal Government in his delivery of democracy dividends.
It is absolutely wrong for Dakuku Peterside to think that the only way that his Ministerial Oga will consider him in his defeated political equation is to lie against Governor Wike. For once, he should muster the courage to be truthful. He should be HONOURABLE enough to appreciate the fine details of performance. Using Bisi Olaniyi to spew falsehood has never been productive. It will not be productive, even in 2023.
