In his rather blunt, pungent and straight-to-the-point manner, Onimi Kabaka Brown, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), fired from all cinders in this spicy reaction to the visit of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, alongside other chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Bonny LGA on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 to flag the campaigns and hand over his party’s flag to the House of Assembly candidate for Bonny Constituency.
In this telephone interview with the Publisher of Kristina Reports, Godswill Jumbo, the Finima born politician x-rayed the promises made by Wike and the antecedents of his administration with regards to Bonny and gave the Governor a mighty thumbs down, describing his promises as a mirage that will never see the light of day. Enjoy the read.
Kristina Reports: The Governor of Rivers State was in Bonny alongside his party officials and chieftains to campaign for their candidates for governorship, senate, house of representatives and house of assembly. What is your reaction to this?
Onimi Kabaka Brown: Bonny has always lacked representation under that PDP and Wike and it has shown today; if for eight solid years you cannot finish a N2billion Bonny National Grammar School project, you are coming to deceive us for an office that you will not hold and telling us that you are going to do a N40billion Bonny Ring Road project, that’s a mirage. You can’t continue to lie to us. Bonny people cannot continue to take PDP seriously. The truth of the matter is that they see us as walk-overs. The whole thing that happened today is a charade, all they did is to pay people N2,000 to wear T-shirt and face cap. That’s the only thing PDP is known for – banners and posters, no project to show. Bonny generates so much, Wike has collected billions of naira in IGR PAYE and other taxes in Bonny Local Government Area in the last eight solid years, but not even a N1billion project in Bonny. That’s an insult to Bonny Kingdom.
You said you have not listened to him, but in his speech at the palace…
(Cuts in) He has nothing to come and do in Bonny, he has nothing to campaign with in Bonny.
At the palace, when he was speaking to the King of Bonny and also at the campaign ground, he admitted that the only project he had done in Bonny was the Bonny National Grammar School project but, unfortunately, it was given to Bonny people who didn’t construct…
That he has done or it’s under construction? He has not done any project ooo…
Let me land, Sir. So, in the palace he even apologized to the King that that project has not been handed over to the Bonny people up till now but promised that in the next three months before he leaves office, he will do that, then, he said there’s a shore protection project going on at Longjohn section of Abalamabie Community and a bridge they are constructing at Abalamabie; are those not projects?
You are a press man, go and verify in those places. It is a mirage just like the BNGS project. What Wike did today is just to come and cajole the Bonny people for the umpteenth time, that is what he did today. It is obvious that as a people we lack representation and the essence of politics is empowerment and development and under Wike the Bonny people have not been empowered and we have not been developed. So, we cannot continue to play.
But don’t you agree with him when he said that he may not have done infrastructure projects for Bonny people but the biggest project he has done for Ibani people, which comprises Bonny and Opobo people, is making sure that their son emerges as the candidate of his party and giving every assurance that he will deliver him at the elections?
First of all, if history is crown to us, if you look at the antecedent, yes, he is an Ibani man but he’s not a Bonny man. We have heard Ibani people that have held positions in Rivers State and they have never helped Bonny. From G. T. G. Toby, the former deputy governor to Ibim Seminintari, who was a very powerful sole administrator in NDDC, she did nothing in Bonny. Dakuku Peterside did nothing in Bonny. So, what are you telling us? We’ve seen them in offices before, so we cannot be moved by this schemes. You cannot come and tell us that because he’s an Ibani son, we should all be clapping for him. Didn’t he do projects in Opobo? Are we not contributing so much to the Rivers State government coffers? Bonny is tops in terms of revenue generation to the Rivers State government. So, politics is about numbers. We are bringing the financial numbers to the table. How can you be generating so much from Bonny and you cannot do a N1billion projects in Bonny? What is he taking us for? It’s high time Bonny people look inward and fast-track. We should look at these people in their faces and tell them, no. We can’t take this anymore as a people. We cannot continue to play second fiddle in Bonny. Our forefathers have always kept Bonny at the front burner of Rivers State politics from the likes of I. A. Idamieibi Brown to A. D. W. Jumbo. We can name them; these are people that even contested as governors. They were well respected in the State. What is happening to us today?
Wike also asked the question that the APC has been at the federal level for eight years and that there’s no development footprint on ground in Bonny. How do you answer to that?
Wike is only playing to the gallery, everybody knows that the Bonny/Bodo Road that was redesigned and awarded to Julius Berger is a brainchild of this administration under President Buhari. The tripartite agreement between Julius Berger, NLNG and the Federal Ministry of Works was a brainchild of Fashola and it was 75% complete. As at first week of January, Julius Berger vehicles have started coming into Bonny from Bodo. As I speak to you today, Muhammadu Buhari approved the final investment decision for the NLNG Train 7 project that has culminated into the economic fortunes of Bonny Kingdom. today, we have everybody trooping into Bonny; it is as a result of the NLNG Train 7 project and it cuts across party lines.
Before you go on, doesn’t it sound contradictory that the NLNG is claiming that the Bonny-Bodo Road project is their brainchild, the Federal Government is claiming it’s their brainchild and today Nyesom Wike said he worked on the project? Who do we believe, the NLNG, your party, the Federal Government, Wike?
The truth is that the project is under the supervision of Fashola, the Minister for Works. They had a tripartite agreement before that project kicked off. It took NLNG, Julius Berger and the Federal Ministry of Works to fund the project 50/50 and there’s a tax to that effect. Are you aware that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has given NLNG a tax rebate to the tune of over N30billion. Lest we forget, NLNG is owned by the Federal Government through the NNPC that has the highest share. NLNG has been in existence before now, under Presidents Jonathan and Obasanjo, NLNG was there; why didn’t they come up with this tripartite agreement? You cannot take it away from Muhammadu Buhari. He did it for us and our people are benefitting immensely from the project in terms of employment and contract, Bonny people are benefitting from it immensely. So, you know that Wike is only playing to the gallery, it obvious.
Are you doubting the assurances Wike has given that Siminialayi Fubara doesn’t have a choice but to develop Bonny? You don’t believe that?
How can he vouch for a man that has not gotten into office? How are you sure Siminialayi will win? So, invariably you are telling us that in your eight years you did not do anything for Bonny. That’s the meaning of what you just said. Why didn’t he go to Opobo and say Siminialayi will complete the Opobo/Nkoro Road? Why didn’t he go to Rumuepirikom to tell them that Siminialayi will come and complete the Rumuepirikom flyover? Why is it that it is Bonny you will take to the next phase? Because we lack representation under his administration, that’s the truth. The only thing that shows presence of PDP in Bonny is their banners and posters, in terms of employment, project, zero. So, the Bonny people will wake up and know who their brother is. And for the first time, I want to go by Wike’s logic. You do for me, I do for you; because he has not done for us, we are not going to vote for PDP as a people and as an opinion leader, I’m calling on all well-meaning Bonny indigenes to resist PDP and all her candidates; resist them in all totality because we have lacked representation under them in the last eight years.
Hon Omini kabaka Brown has said it all, the Gov Wike administration is a disaster to the Bonny Kingdom. PVC will do the needful.