‘Agents Of Darkness Want To Take Over Rivers’

Stakeholders in Rivers State have described Abuja-based Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)politicians now plotting to perfect a state of anarchy and confusion in Rivers State as agents of darkness desperate to take over the governance of the state for their selfish interests.

The stakeholders, who spoke with The Tide in an interview yesterday, said that the Abuja-based politicians were working round the clock to sabotage the good policies and programmes of the present administration because they had lost out in the power equation in the state.

They noted that such politicians had been lobbying government functionaries, politicians and other stakeholders to push their way into the system, but their failure to gain grounds had precipitated the war against constituted authorities in the state.

According to them, the Abuja-based politicians were angry that the state government had not allowed them to siphon Rivers money into their private pockets, having lost out from lobbies to corner certain contracts and grab other supposed largesse from government, and feel they could not wait any longer, lest they go a begging.

One of the stakeholders, who spoke to The Tide, yesterday, said that the Abuja-based politicians were fighting to gain recognition now because they feel that any further wait could pauperize them, and subject them to more life of penury and frustration.

He argued that the desperate politicians were angry that the state government had stubbornly failed to mortgage the interest of the majority of Rivers people for the selfish politicians, who see the government’s huge investments in transforming the infrastructure landscape of the state in such areas as education, health, roads, agriculture, among others, as waste of public funds.

He noted that the sacking of the Chief G.U. Ake-led executive of the PDP penultimate Monday was designed to undermine the capacity and ability of the Governor Chibuike Amaechi-led state government to deliver the dividends of democracy to the majority of the good people of the state.

Sources informed The Tide that the Abuja Taliban  may come up with plan ‘B’ if they fail to achieve their mission with the sacking of the Ake-led executive of the PDP, saying that their second agenda may be to launch a campaign of intimidation, harassment, and break down of law and order with the aim of orchestrating anarchy and chaos, just to invite the Presidency to declare a state of emergency in the state.

“As I am talking with you, meetings are going on with prominent politicians and stakeholders, with Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who had previously vowed to make the state ungovernable for Amaechi,” an inside source said.

Rivers State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Chamberlain Peterside (4th left), with the state Accountant -General, Mr Ngozi Abu (2nd right), chairman, State House of Assembly Committee on Finance, Hon Josiah Orlu (middle) and other members of the committee during an oversight function visit to the Finance Ministry, yesterday.