Tony John, Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom  Wike, has called on Nigerians to be bold  and work diligently towards sacking the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government in 2019.

Wike gave the charge in an interview at the Government House  in Port Harcourt,  the state capital, yesterday.

He said: “Opposition groups need cooperation and understanding of certain things. It is allowed in politics. What that means is to say, look, ‘we have the capacity to put all efforts together to remove this bad government.’

“That is good for Nigeria. Coming together to move Nigeria forward is the way to go. Each group would bring their programmes and form a national agenda. We do not want to do it alone, but work together, so that Nigeria can move forward. It should be encouraged further and that is what I stand for.” Wike urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2019 general election because it is no longer wise to stand aloof, under the present circumstances.

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“Nigerians do not need to be aloof. This will play into the hands of those doing bad. People should come out and take their stand. Vote and insist on your vote. No struggle is easy, but, every struggle takes life. That is the way to change your country. To go to sleep is dangerous because it allows a bad leader to remain.  In Ekiti, they know that under credible elections, the PDP will win. So, what they are doing is cause tension in PDP strongholds and cause apathy.

“I tell Nigerians, do not be intimidated. Everybody has to make sacrifice. The media played a role in 2015; why not now? Have you been so intimidated?” Wike said.

The governor also said Nigerians should not be carried away by the pronouncements  of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on neutrality,  .

“I do not want to be carried away by what the INEC chairman says because that story has been there over the years. What matters is evidence of what has been put on ground for free and fair elections. Can he say no to the ruling party?” he asked.

Speaking on projects execution, Wike said that the immediate past APC administration in the state abandoned several projects because of their culture of inflation of contract costs.

He said: “What I discovered was that, so many of the contract costs were inflated. When you inflate contracts, it becomes difficult to finish.”

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The governor said since he took over, his administration has remained committed to the transformation of the state.

“What is important is commitment. If you love your people and you are committed, you will achieve these things. It is not just about money,  though money  is important. Hardly is there any project being done, today, that I cannot give you the daily update on the project. I do not wait for the Commissioner of Works or the Special Adviser on Projects to brief me. Some chief executives sat here and relied on what their aides told them.  For me, I go and see with my two eyes. If your aides know you go there daily, they will not want to give you false briefs and everybody would take his or her job seriously. The name ‘Mr Project’ is as a result of deep commitment to serve our people through infrastructure revival and rebuilding things that had gone down for long…”