You gave us hunger, poverty, unemployment for seven years—Civil Society, NLC, Pensioners tell Wike

*Wike wants to throw money to get votes because of election -Prof Lawrence Chukwu, APC Chieftain

Daniel Efe/Port Harcourt

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been receiving bashing for announcing that his administration’s next policy thrust will be to empower the people by what is popularly called ‘Stomach Infrastructure’.

 In a swift reaction, the Rivers State Civil Organizations’ Spokesman, Comrade Solomon Lenu, dismissed the planned policy as a clear reminder to Rivers People by the Governor that his administration has deliberately improverished 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.

He warned Rivers people not to be swayed by the antics of the Governor but keep their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCS, and use it wisely 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 that meaning of Governor Wike’s stomach infrastructure means he knew all the while that people of Rivers State had been un-empowered 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.

Lenu further stated that for nearly seven years “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.”

The image maker for Rivers Civil Society Organization told Journalists and also posted it on his Facebook timeline regretted that under the present administration Demonstration Staff School Teachers witnessed economic woes akin to hell on earth, as their salaries were stopped, and even their victories various court vcouldn’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. Not even an SME’s package to support this very critical stakeholders of our society.

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.

Spokesman 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 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, Employment 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 their votes because elections are coming that is what he is calling stomach infrastructure.

On her part, Mrs Beatrice Itubo, Chairperson Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Rivers State, dismissed the announcement of Governor Wike about empowering the people as reducing Rivers people 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,he refused”.
Itubo said:”Let him employ 100,000 workers and we’ll know he is serious. Workers have spent all his youthful years pay them their gratuities you refused. You building Flyovers everywhere elections and he is talking about stomach infrastructure, are we not beggars?”.