… Melaye suffering from selective amnesia, Wike replies
Worried by Senator Dino Melaye’s allegations on a national television that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, sponsored his Kogi State governorship election campaign in 2019 with thousands of dollars and logistics support, Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in the state have called for urgent audit of the state government’s accounts.
Melaye also alleged that Wike gave similar support to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidates in Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Abia states.
Chairman of Rivers State Civil Society Organisations, Enefaa Geogewill, and the Chairman, Coalition of Concerned Rivers Stakeholders, Sunny Dada, made the call, yesterday, while reacting to Melaye’s allegations. They called on financial institutions to properly investigate the claims and ensure adequate sanctioning if found to be true.
Georgewill said: “The claim by Melaye is one of the bogus disclosures of Wike spending money on politicians in other parts of the country, while citizens of the state languish in pain and poverty.
“The governor has openly donated huge amounts of money to political interests outside the state, while the Mile One Market, which was gutted by fire since 2014 is still not allowed to function.
“It is quite pathetic that such amounts of money will be flying everywhere, yet the demonstration teachers in state higher institutions have not been paid for about seven years, the pensioners are still struggling and crying to be paid.”
On his part, Sunny Dada, in an open letter to Wike, urged the governor to urgently clarify the statements made by his former political ally, Melaye, on his alleged role in the funding of his 2019 Kogi State governorship election campaign.
Dada pointed out that while there is nothing wrong in the governor advancing his political interest beyond the boundaries of Rivers State, he noted that it is, however, imperative that he (Wike) openly challenged Melaye to provide relevant evidence to validate his claim, to dispel growing perceptions that he used funds from the coffers of the state to advance the political interests of his cronies in and outside the state.
The letter reads in part: “On the allegation of a private jet that belongs to you, Rivers people are at a loss if Melaye is referring to the Rivers State Legacy Aircraft. However, because the legacy aircraft was only formally recovered from Germany in September 2022, it is impossible that Melaye could be referring to it. We, however, urge you to challenge him to provide evidence that you have a private jet in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“This is very important in the light of the implication of such comment, especially coming at a time when some officials of the Rivers State Government are having a running battle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It is, therefore, very crucial that you come clean on the allegations to allay fears of Rivers people that their finances are safe with you and that the reason for the high rate of unemployment in the state is not connected to any licentious extravagance on your part as implied by your former friend.”
Contacted, the Special Assistant to Wike on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, described Melaye’s allegation on his governorship ambition in 2019 as preposterous. Ebiri said: “We consider the specious allegations by Melaye that Wike used state money to support his ill-fated governorship ambition in 2019 as preposterous.
“Wike’s candid advice to the PDP not to manipulate the Kogi State governorship delegate list in favour of Melaye stems from genuine concern that Melaye’s notoriety will ruin the party’s chances in the governorship election.
“Wike still maintains that Melaye, whose wife had divorced him for domestic violence, is not fit to contest for the exalted office of the governor of Kogi State. How can the people of Kogi vote for a childish adult, who had on the floor of the Senate threatened to beat up the wife of the President-elect, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and ‘impregnate’ her.
“We also wish to state emphatically that Wike does not own a private jet. This infantile allegation by Melaye further proves that he is suffering from selective amnesia.”