Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has debunked reports claiming he ordered the Military to kill Igbos in the Oyigbo area of the oil-rich state.
While insisting that members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) had destroyed properties in the area and killed people, Wike in a state broadcast on Monday, restated that the imposition of a curfew in Oyigbo was to restore order to the area.
“So, it’s not true that I order the military to kill Igbos in Oyigbo. When did I become a friend to the Military?” the former Minister of Education wondered. “So what about the Igbos living elsewhere in the state are they also being killed?”
The narrative that Igbos were being killed by the Military, Wike argued, is to move attention from the nefarious activities of the pro-Biafra group in Oyigbo.
He maintained that this is not the first time the pro-Biafra group is using the area as a launching pad.
“IPOB added a new dimension this time. They killed 6 Army Officers and burnt one. They killed four Police Officers,” he explained. “They destroyed all the Police Stations and Court Buildings. What offense did we commit as a state?”
The governor added that he has “no relationship with the Army or the Police, I do not command them. They change Commissioner of Police every time. How will I begin to direct the Army that I do not give instruction?”
Wike who expressed anger at IPOB’s hoisting of its flag in a school in Komkom Town vowed not to allow “criminals” to destroy Rivers State.
“I will not fold my arms and watch criminals destroy my state if those few criminals are Igbos then they should know that I will not allow them,” he warned. “They made attempt to rename a local government in my state. That alone is a signal. I will not agree to that. I know who is doing all these; who has told them to rise, protest against Wike.”
Summary of What Governor Nyeson Wike said
“IPOB has used Oyigbo as a munching ground. The security agencies are aware of this” ~Gov. Wike
~Gov. Wike: “IPOB didn’t just start munching Oyigbo, they started changing the names of Communities, and people expect me as a sitting Governor to be silent about it”
~Gov. Wike: “Even the South-East Governors don’t support IPOB, so why would a Niger Deltan like me support IPOB? People now see IPOB as the spokesman for the Igbos, that’s not true. What is IPOB and who is their Leader, who is that person?
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020: “The issue of people saying I sent the Military to Oyigbo is unfounded. I don’t even have any connection or contact to the Military. The former GOC stayed in this state without even seeing me as a Governor. So which Army could I have sent to Oyigbo?”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020″People say I should ignore all this because tomorrow I may need their vote. Which vote and for what? So I should fold my hands and watch because tomorrow I may need their vote? What for?”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020: “I know who is doing all this and plotting people to Protest and cause mayhem here. *It is the minister of Transportation*. He is scared of my rising political profile”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020 “Remember I travelled abroad and came back, and there was propaganda that I destroyed a mosque. They started saying I hate hausas, now it is the Igbos. I’m a politician and I am used to all that. But I will not fold my hands and allow criminals Destroy my state.”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/202: “I cannot change my identity because of ambition. Because people are saying zone the Presidency to the South-East, I will now change my identity that I am from the South-East, I am a biafran? That’s unthinkable!”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/202: “I will not as a Governor accept the killing of innocent people in this state, it is unacceptable!”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020: “Cheques have been written in the names of the wives of the deceased. We are only having the police and army present, we are not giving the money to the police and military chiefs. We are presenting it directly to the families but having their chiefs present.”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/20: “Even the Governors of the South-East have denounced this people called IPOB. I have asked the SSG today to go give them #200 Million Naira, both for the families of the police and Army whom IPOB killed in Oyigbo”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020″This terrorist organization has made us spend money that we would have used for doing other projects. We have announced to rebuild the police stations, replace the burnt vehicles etc. This is causing huge cost on Rivers state Gvt but people are not seeing that.Why would I kill Igbos in Oyigbo and not kill the ones in Other Local Governments?”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020 “IPOB members must leave Oyigbo and not Igbos.Some of them have been sending me text messages from the US that they will do this and that. I repeat, I am not Sen. Ekwerenmadu and Amaechi. I am not that kind of Governor you can intimidate. Let them dare!”
~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020 “The man we placed #50 million bounty on has surrendered himself to the security agencies”~Gov. WikeLive on AIT 2/11/2020
