Rivers: Wike Under Fire For Borrowing N18bn After N70bn FG Refund

By Ola Samuel

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has come under ferocious attack from the All Progressives Congress, APC and critics of his administration over his decision to obtain N18 billion loan to construct a flyover and some road projects in Port Harcourt, the state’s capital.

The state’s currently owes it creditors N291.7 billion , the second biggest debt stock in the country, according to the Debt Management Office, DMO 2019 figure.

Wike’s critics say his administration does not need loans at this time when it has recently received over N70 billion refund from the federal government.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in July returned to the Wike administration funds used for the repairs and expansion of three federal roads and three flyover bridges. Among them was the dualization of the 41.26 km Rivers’ end of the 106.4 km Port Harcourt – Owerri federal highway and Airport-Isiokpo-Elele/Omerelu road.

Others are the reconstruction of Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt from Education to Agip flyover junction and construction of flyover at Agip-Rumueme-Abacha roundabout and the construction of flyover on East-west road at Obiri-Ikwerre.

The reimbursement, critics of Wike said should have been used to develop and provide infrastructure in the oil bearing state.

The government need not borrow after receiving such humongous funds from the centre, according to close watchers of the state.

The state APC chapter on its part said the loan should be committed to providing jobs for the hundreds of unemployed youths.

But the government has defended the loan which it said will be used to build the fourth flyover in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, to address traffic congestion in the area.

In a statement on Tuesday by its chairman, ogbonna Nwuke, the party said Governor Wike was taking the state adrift.

The APC “express our opposition to the use of a whooping sum of N18bn on the construction of a flyover and road expansion project in Port Harcourt.

“That kind of money can be used judiciously in developing cottage industries and creating jobs, which will engage our youths and strengthen the economy. Roads leading to most of our local government areas have completely packed up. They require to be fixed in order to end the misery of the people.

“To date, we remain a consumer state instead of a producer state, which depends solely on federal allocations. The government should fulfill its promise to embark on agriculture. Our people cannot continue to watch, while their contemporaries elsewhere are motivated by their state governments to engage in productive activities.”

An advocacy group, Network for Defense and Good Governance, NDDGG, had last month called on the federal government to ensure that the Rivers State government gives proper account of the N78.9 billion.

“The Rivers state government should publish details as to how it and what projects the N78.9 billion would be used for in line with Public Procurement Laws,” Sobomabo Jackrich, NDDGG convener stated in a statement in July.

Meanwhile critics of the government say the N78.9 billion refund is the biggest pay-out from the federal government to any state government by the Buhari administration, and should be chanelled into  life changing projects for the people of the state.