TELL Magazine

*Says NWC members are tax collectors.

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has pulled out of the negotiations to bring in his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki in the governorship race of Edo State.In a statement Tuesday evening by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, Wike said he had headed back to Port Harcourt because of an accusation that he was behind the Port Harcourt court order that barred Obaseki from contesting the PDP governorship primaries.
Wike said some members of the NWC of the PDP were sycophants and tax collectors who would never tell the truth.
According to him, instead of the NWC to carry everybody along in Edo State, they resorted to using the media to blackmail him.
“I told them that in Edo State, we must handle the issue carefully and carry everybody along. They must respect human beings and not behave like tax collectors.
“They said because an order was obtained from a  Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, then I am responsible.
“I have had sleepless nights to resolve the issue in Edo state. The Governors of Edo, Adamawa, and Delta states, know what I have done to resolve the issues in Edo state.
“As a result of this senseless accusation, I have pulled out of Edo State settlement. My integrity matters. I have also directed my lawyer to write ThisDay Newspaper on the publication they made against me in their Tuesday,23rd June, 2020 edition. 
“I know the members of the National Working Committee of PDP who connived with ThisDay. They are tax collectors. Let them challenge me and I will come out with more facts. “Nobody will rubbish me by raising false accusations against me. I will fight back,” he said.
Governor Wike said he would  no longer participate in any reconciliation and wondered why the NWC now wants to consult Governors of the party. 
He questioned why the NWC did not consult with Governors in the case of Bayelsa State. 
The governor warned that if PDP was not careful, the crisis in the All Progressive Congress (APC) would  be a child’s play.”I am brought up not to accept injustice, and that is why I keep speaking out on national issues. Nobody in PDP can intimidate Rivers State.
“Nobody can threaten me because I said things must be done constitutionally. I will always continue to satisfy my conscience. 
“From now on, I want to concentrate on the development of Rivers State”, he added.