A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has described as lies allegations by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that he failed to execute or complete contracts awarded to him.
Secondus said he had never been a contractor and never bid for or collected any contract from the state as alleged by the governor.
The governor had during the commissioning of the Eneka-Igbo Etche Road project on Friday accused Secondus of failing to execute the contracts he got from the state government. He said in some instances, the contract sum was fully paid but the projects were not completed. He challenged the former party chairman to name any road contract he was awarded that he completed.
But in his response on Saturday, Secondus told Sunday PUNCH in a short interview, “I have never been a contractor. I did not collect or bid for any contract in Rivers State or from his government as alleged by the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
“It is wrong of him to make such weighty allegations without any evidence. Let him do his investigation and go to the Corporate Affairs Commission to get the details of the companies he has given contracts to or those that the state gave contracts. I am not one of them.
“With his status, it is wrong for him to buy airtime from television stations and be dishing out outright lies and half-truths. Is he the owner of Julius Berger, which has done so well in the state by executing contracts running into hundreds of billions of naira?”
Secondus said he would rather focus on working for the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, to win the February 25 presidential election.
Secondus stated, “As for me, I am not a violent man and I remain committed to the victory of our presidential candidate and his running mate, Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa in the forthcoming presidential election. I call on Governor Wike to join hands with progressive-minded people in Nigeria to be part of a positive history. I am sure he loves the PDP and won’t do anything to jeopardise its victory at any level. I wish the governor a happy and prosperous new year.”
Wike replies Okowa
Meanwhile, Wike has responded to the statement by Okowa that God, and not the G-5 governors, would determine Nigeria’s next president.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Ogbo–Ihugbodo Road project in Ahoada East Local Government Area on Saturday, Wike said the G-5 governors would never play God.
He stated, “We are alive today and we are where we are because of God. So, nobody can tell us that it is only God; we know that it is only God that gives power. But our prayer is that God, don’t allow those who will sell Nigeria in the next one second to be in power.
“Our prayer is God, don’t allow anybody that you (people) will have an agreement with and in the next two minutes, the person will change. Our prayer is that almighty God will not allow those who will betray their brothers when they have agreed with their brothers to do something. God, may you never allow such people.”
In his veiled reference to Okowa, Wike said, “Don’t be treacherous in life because you want power. God will never give power to the wicked. Our hands are clean. We have not done anything wrong. All we are saying is, do things in a way all of us will have a sense of belonging and believe that we are together. That is all we are saying.
“If saying so is wrong, then let’s leave it to God. But we know it is good that as right takes, let left take also.”
Wike, who also rejected Okowa’s prediction that there would be division among the G-5 governors, said, ‘It has never worked and it will never work in Jesus name. By sitting down to say there will be division, I send that prayer back to you. I don’t want to discuss them. I have told people to allow the sleeping dog to lie. If you don’t, you too will not sleep.”
He said some of those against the G-5 governors were people who once dumped the party and made it to lose the presidential election in 2015. “I heard them say that PDP is a responsible party. I agree, but they left the PDP in 2014 and made the party lose the election. Today, we are struggling to take over power from APC. Who are those who made us lose this power?” he said.
Speaking on the road project, he said it was already established that his administration would have an unbeatable record in terms of performance.
