I did not sponsor protest against FG , Wike insists

•Wike

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers says he did not sponsor anyone to protest against the Federal Government, He added that those who planned to protest in his favour must have taken a cue from those who protested against him in Abuja. Wike stated this when he granted audience to the Rivers State Elders Council of Ministers (RISECOM), in Port Harcourt on Friday.

“If they like, let them bring all manner of accusations daily, it will not cow me. Three days ago, they sponsored protests against me in Abuja with the police leading the protesters. “It is so unfortunate how they can descend so low. The DSS is unhappy because I stopped them from kidnapping a judge.

Till today, they are yet to invite that particular judge,” he said. Wike asked, assuming people want to protest, are we not in a democracy? If I am the one who is the sponsor of the planned protest in my favour, who sponsored the protests against me? “It means they are the people who sponsored the protests”, he contended. Wike assured the Christian leaders that he remained committed to the development of the state and the welfare of its people.

He said no level of intimidation or blackmail from federal agencies would scare him into selling out the state to external forces. He said this was a turbulent period but that the state would overcome the challenges because he could not be cowed. He urged Rivers people not to panic “because nobody can take the state by force despite sustained blackmail by the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS). “None of them gave me the mandate.

The people of Rivers state gave me this mandate and I will never sell the interest of this state for whatever reason. “I will not bring out the money of Rivers to sponsor other people outside the state”, he said. Wike told the Christian leaders that security agencies were frustrating the security architecture of the state to further their plot to declare a state of emergency and thereafter bring a lackey to loot the state.

Leader of RISECOM, Archbishop of Niger Delta Province, Most Rev Ignatius Kattey commended the governor for his developmental strides in the state. Methodist Archbishop of Port Harcourt, Most Rev Agwu urged the governor to stand firm despite the persecution.