Chief Whip of the Senate and former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Senator Kalu made this call on Thursday while addressing the press after a project inspection tour around the state capital led by the state Governor himself.
While speaking to the press after inspecting the; Rumuokoro Flyover bridge, 2nd Artillery flyover bridge, Real Madrid football Academy and the Mother and Child Hospital, Rumuomasi in Port-Harcourt, Kalu commended Wike for his efforts in investing in critical infrastructure; he told the Wike to join the APC in order to consolidate on the rewards of belonging to the party at the centre.
“I encourage and appeal to other governors to emulate Wike in terms of his infrastructural drive in the state, because this is what democracy is all about which is making the people happy by meeting up with their expectations. You see how visibly happy the people were when they sighted the governor. I am impressed by the quality and quantity of infrastructures I have seen so far. The Governor has confirmed that there are about five flyovers under construction and three more have been approved for construction, said Kalu.
Stressing the need to partner with the APC; Kalu appealed to Wike to soft pedal on his continuous criticisms of the party and called on the Rivers State Governor to work harmoniously with the APC-led Federal Government.
In his words” I urge the Governor to partner with the APC. I discussed with him all through the night to find a common ground with the APC. I believe that very soon, it shall come to reality. I commend him for the tour; he is a man needed by us in the APC. It is my belief that a messiah can come from anywhere. So I urge Governor Wike to soft pedal on our party. Humans can switch from one party to another which is human behavior in Africa. I appeal to him to partner with us so that the good people of Rivers State can benefit more from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In his reaction, Wike noted that his party the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), is committed to the welfare of the people, he disclosed that his grievance with the APC is the custom of making appointments based on political interest rather than competence.
He said “I can only partner with a party that is open to partnership, there’s so much insecurity in Nigeria today and there have been a lot of killings, so his party (APC ) should solve the problem but the problem has remained unresolved.
Speaking further he said “his party appoints commissioners of police based on patronage, a politician from my state pays a visit to the Inspector General (IG) of Police and makes request for a New Commissioner; but the IG ends up making the appointment, without considering the competence of such person to fight crime. He makes the appointment based on the choice of the ruling party.
“In that case the person is deployed but he is unable to tackle crime. That is the major problem we are having today in the country. So how can I partner with such a Government that makes appointments based on the interest of a politician. Senator Kalu remains my friend that is why I invited him to come and see what we’re doing in Rivers state.
(Ikpaisong Reporters
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