Governor Nyesom Wike (Governor of Rivers State) and Ibim Semenitari (Ag managing director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), have skillfully avoided direct confrontation since both of them became the biggest personalities in the Garden City. Rivers State Government (RSG) with an annual budget of between N300billion and N400billion officially is the largest economy after Lagos while the NDDC with an annual budget of over N300Bn (before now) is the largest intervention agency in Nigeria.
Both Semenitari and Wike were close aides of former governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi until 2012 when Wike broke away from the camp to double back in a fierce political fight in the Jonathan/Wike vs Amaechi war that saw Amaechi losing Rivers and Jonathan losing Aso Rock. Semenitari was Amaechi’s trusted information commissioner heading the media war chest while Wike was the chief of staff and war leader in the K-leg saga that ended in the Supreme Court with a stunning verdict in their favour. It is said that Wike and Semenitari were so close to Amaechi in the Government House and so knew each other too well. On the spur of common sense, they seem to have successfully avoided a course of direct collision as the lords of the Garden City, presiding over the two strongest points that attract loyalty and followership; one for the PDP, the other for the APC.
The two personalities seem to be so powerful and so critically important that few months ago when Semenitari as NDDC boss accompanied the Senate Committee on Niger Delta to Wike’s office in Government House, the PDP immediately went into wild speculation that the NDDC boss had joined their camp. Ibim simply smiled it away.
Now, as Semenitari prepares to exit the 7th floor of the Dappa Biriye House (NDDC MD’s floor), a mere road project seems set to disrupt the careful avoidance strategies of both. Semenitari followed the APC campaign (elections never end in Rivers) to Etche last weekend and Wike rushed there too less than one week later on ‘project inspection’. The NDDC boss had said she was doing roads in Etche on the request of Ogbonna Nwuche (contesting for APC). Wike rushed down to say he was the one doing the roads and that APC was attempting to steal them. Issues of NDDC roads being tampered with (claimed) by the state had been hushed in the past.
Wike
Wike had charged the people of Etche Local Government Area not to be moved by what he called the attempted daylight robbery of an ongoing construction of the Igwuruta-Chokocho-Okehi Road by the APC and the NDDC.
A statement by Wike’s media aide (Simeon Nwakauda) said: “This road has nothing to do with the NDDC. I am happy that you did not believe their lies when they came for campaign. The Rivers State Government flagged off the construction of this road, awarded it to a reputable construction company; today, it is almost finished.
“This road will be commissioned this month. We remain committed to the development of Etche. We have concluded the process for the commencement of Igbo-Etche Road. Again, don’t be deceived by the fake promise of the APC on that road.”
Semenitari
The Ag MD of the NDDC, Ibim Semenitari, quickly debunked claims made by Wike, that the Commission was not involved in the recovery of dilapidated road infrastructure in Etche Local Government Area of the state. Semenitari stressed that not only was Wike playing to the gallery, but was hiding the fact of his failure to tackle the bigger challenge of insecurity plaguing Rivers State.
Semenitari, who was reacting to Wike’s claims said the governor should emulate the Cross River State Governor who commended NDDC for its intervention on the Calabar-Itu Road.
“As an interventionist agency, NDDC stepped in to recover the roads between Igwuruta and Umuechem, as well as internal roads in that community, and the Oil Mill-Igbo-Etche road, which is a critical connection between the bigger Port Harcourt market and the produce spots in Etche. NDDC, working under the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, stepped in to arrest the deterioration in road infrastructure in Etche as to eventually boost economic activity in the area and give its inhabitants a lease of life. Checks can be made on those roads as to the veracity of NDDC’s scope and quality of intervention.”
Semenitari further stated that NDDC would drive those projects to completion despite Wike’s attempts to possibly stall them.
“The facts which Wike sought to turn head-down, are clear. NDDC is working on the Igwuruta-Umuechem, Umuechem internal roads, and the Oil Mill-Igbo-Etche road. Wike is not happy that the FG through the Commission is giving Etche people such critical intervention, and so, would prefer where the roads’ users continued in their suffering.”
Semenitari added: “We are miffed that Wike chooses to engage in speech-making as though there was a speech contest. Wike is not bothered that under his watch in little over a year, Rivers State has become a killing field. Wike is not bothered that there is capital flight and mass movement of people and that corporate entities are deserting Rivers State.
Conclusion:
BDSUNDAY gathered that both the Rivers State Government and the NDDC are doing roads in Etche, and they may be misunderstanding the particular roads in question. Many have wondered whether the Igwuruta-Chokocho-Okehi Road being done by Wike was the same as the Igwuruta-Umuechem Road of the Umuechem internal roads being done by the NDDC were the same.
Ignatius Chukwu
