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The Rivers State Government has debunked the allegation by Senator Lee Maeba that his life is under threat, describing it as a spurious tale.
The PUNCH reports that Maeba had raised the alarm over the alleged threat to his life and six others who are supporters of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
Maeba, who spoke exclusively to The PUNCH, referred to a Facebook post on August 26, 2022, saying the state government neither denied nor refuted the allegation.
However, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Emeka Woke, in a statement on Sunday, refuted the allegation.
Woke, who was said to have spoken in Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area during the grand finale of the state-wide Grassroots Development Initiative’s Permanent Voters’ Card collection sensitisation rally, said there was no such plan to clampdown or eliminate any person in the state.
“In this government, we don’t kill anybody. We have never and will never kill anybody. Please if you don’t have strength; tell your people that you don’t have strength,” Woke said.
He also took a swipe at a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside, who hails from Opobo, for claiming that Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration has done nothing for the council. He wondered why Dakuku, who served as Commissioner for Works under the Chibuike Amaechi’s administration and never made any effort to advance work on the Opobo axis of the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Unity Road, from the point the administration of Dr Peter Odili stopped work, would turn around to lie against a governor who provided road for the people of the area.
Woke said it was unbelievable that Peterside, who got a contract for Opobo Shore protection and allegedly embezzled funds, could still have the audacity to accuse the Wike’s administration that has linked the entire Opobo/Nkoro island to the rest of the state by road, of doing nothing for the council.
“This is not campaign, but at campaign time, we will inform you that he (Dakuku) was given a contract. The only thing that he was asked to do for his people, shore protection, he embezzled the money and that contract was not executed,” he alleged.
Peterside faults claim
Reactions, Peterside’s media aide, Martins Ogolo, said his principal was not a contractor and challenged Woke to provide any evidence that a company linked to him (Peterside) was awarded a shore protection contract.
The statement read, “On the imaginary shore protection contract awarded to Dr Dakuku Peterside, I can assure you that Dakuku is not a contractor. He has not been awarded any contract by Rivers State Government.
“If he was not awarded any contract, then you cannot talk of embezzlement of funds. The whole world knows that his integrity is rock solid. Emeka Woke just wants attention.
“I challenge Emeka Woke to come with any evidence that a company linked to Dr Peterside was awarded any shore protection contract.”
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