ONYEDI GABRIEL, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has said that in a sane country, the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government would have admitted their failures and vacated the government.
Wike insisted that the APC had demonstrated lack of capacity and empathy to resolve the security challenges in the country.
Wike called on patriotic nationalists to rise and work together to rescue the country from disintegration insisting that the ruling party “does not care if dead bodies litter the roads”.
The governor in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, spoke when he hosted members of the South-South Zonal Working Committee of the PDP at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday.
Wike said it was obvious that the APC-led Federal Government lacked feelings about the people and never cared about the rising deaths in the country.
He said: “APC governors have come out to say the present APC federal government will solve the security problems. But every day people are dying. When will they solve the problems?
“Own up and say to Nigerians ,we have failed on the promises that we made to you. And honourably say, as it is done in other advanced countries, that since we cannot perform and carry out the covenant we have with Nigerians, we have decided to quit.
“Every reasonable Nigerian, every nationalist who believes in this country should come up and make sure this country moves forward, if not it is going to affect everybody.”
Wike noted that since there was no honour among public office holders in the country, the APC federal government would not own up to its failures in handling issues of insecurity.
He enjoined Nigerians to also brace up and use their voter cards to remove the APC at the appropriate time.
“If Nigeria is a nation where honour and integrity are valued, the present APC-led federal government which does not care even if dead bodies are littering on all the roads in the country, will honourably quit power”, he said.
The governor recalled watching Senator Smart Adeyemi recently crying on the floor of the National Assembly over the spate of insecurity in the country.
He declared that instead of crying, the lawmaker and his colleagues should take the necessary action to arrest the situation.
Wike said despite the peculiarities of the people in the South-South, there was a need for the people to see themselves as one and make it difficult for outsiders from the zone to infiltrate the region.
The governor, who congratulated the delegation for emerging as new executive members of PDP Southsouth zone, said no other geopolitical zone in the country was dominated by a single party except the Southsouth.
He said: “This is the only zone you have one party controlling the entire zone. So, it is a plus for us. This is because our people believe in us, and they believe in our party and that is why they have made sure that PDP wins every election that comes in the zone.
“I’m quite happy in what is happening in our zone in terms of development. Yes, things are not too good in Nigeria, but we have never relented. It is in tough situation you must make a difference.”
In his remarks, PDP National Vice Chairman (Southsouth), Chief Dan Orbih said they came to thank Wike for hosting the last zonal congress of the party where they were elected.
He noted that under the APC-led Federal government, Nigerians were no longer safe.
According to him, farmers in the Southsouth live in fear of marauding herdsmen.
He said; “I must report to you that in the South-South most of our people cannot go to farms. If our people cannot access their farms, it is a clear signal of the impending food crisis we are going to face in this nation.
“Looking at the country today, different areas are advocating for a conference where we can sit down and address the problems we are facing.
“The Yorubas have formed the group called the Amotekun to protect their people. The Igbos has done the same. Today, I feel the South South should come together to take steps to protect our people.”
Orbih commended Wike for the measures he had so far taken to safeguard life and property of all residents in the state.
He said that Wike’s achievements would continue to serve as a benchmark for good governance in country.