By Ife Osemedua
The Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has denied a media report that suggested he insulted a former governor of Lagos state, Bola Tinubu.
The said report alleged that Wike had said that the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is rumoured to have a presidential ambition, would not “smell the gate of the presidential Villa” come 2023.
The report had it that Wike allegedly made the controversial comment in Yola, Adamawa state.
But the Rivers state governor, through a statement issued by
Kelvin Ebiri, his Special Assistant on Media, on Friday, February 5, 2021, said that the report was “false and malicious”.
The statement said, “We wish to state without equivocation, that irrespective of political affiliation, Governor Wike has enormous respect for Chief Tinubu and will never say or do anything to malign the hard earned reputation of the elder statesman.
“We wish to affirm that it is true that Governor Wike was in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State on February 4, to inspect some projects being executed by Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. And while inspecting the Greater Interchange and Underpass in Yola , some journalists requested for an interview which he graciously obliged them.
“The questions asked ranged from the purpose of his visit; the prospects of the Peoples Democratic Party winning the 2023 general election and Nigeria’s rating in the global corruption index recently published by Transparency International.
“At no time during the interview session that lasted about five minutes did Governor Wike mention the names of Chief Tinubu and the APC’s former national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, or even alluded to them.
“We, therefore consider the report as preposterous, fabricated, malicious and intended to inflame relationship between Governor Wike and Chief Tinubu, whom the Rivers Chief Executive holds in high esteem.
“It is our belief that the reporter is probably acting as hireling of some treacherous political actors, who often capitalise on the susceptibility of some journalists to manipulate them to publish misleading or factually incorrect information for political purposes. We dare the reporter to provide any evidence to prove the veracity of his fabricated report.”