- Abuses some politicians of forming association of ex- governors around a presidential candidate
Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has explained he invited leaders of the opposition parties to inaugurate his projects because it is within his right to choose whoever he pleases to undertake such assignments.
Wike asked those, who felt slighted for ignoring them, to also execute projects in their various States and invite him to inaugurate them.
The Governor, who spoke on Monday when he led the Emir of Kano, HRH Ado Bayero, to inaugurate the world-class Peter Odili Cancer Diagnostic and Cardiovascular Centre in Port Harcourt, confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari would be in the State to inaugurate the Port Harcourt Campus of the Nigeria Law School.
He said the Presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi and his New Nigeria National Party(NNNP) counterpart Rabiu Kwankwaso as well as a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, would be in the State to open some projects.
Wike said: “Those, who are saying why am I not inviting them to inaugurate projects, you invite me to inaugurate in your own place. I have a choice to invite whoever I want to come and inaugurate projects. On Wednesday, Adams Oshiomhole will come.
On Thursday, Peter Obi will come and commission, on Friday President Buhari will commission the Nigerian Law School. On Monday, Kwankwaso will come. If you want to have high blood pressure, it is your business”.
Wike explained that he named the project after Odili, because of his service to humanity as a former Governor and a medical practitioner.
He said Odili distinguished himself for not abandoning his people and relocating to Abuja to join others, who had developed the habit of forming associations to seek relevance and run around a presidential candidate.
He said: “Give me a better reason while I should not name it after Dr. Peter Odili. This is a man who has run one of the best clinics in this State as a medical doctor. This is a man, who has served this state as a governor for eight years.
“This is a man, who had refused to join his colleagues in Abuja to form an association of former Governors so that they can be relevant in running around a presidential candidate. He has devoted himself on medical education still serving the people to see how we can train more doctors and other health officers.
“Who then is more qualified for this facility to be named after? There are those when they leave office, they don’t bother about service again. That is why we are where we are. People became governors for eight years, senators for 16 years, and nobody cares about home again.
“All they do is to live in Abuja and form associations and then begin to hang around the presidential candidate. Instead of them making the presidential candidate win election, they begin to deceive him. But Odili refused to be a party to that. I am very proud and I owe nobody any apology at all. If you are not happy try and be a governor and name anybody you want”.
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