The former Director-General, Nigeria Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, has alleged that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State spent N30billion state funds on delegates during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary.
Peterside said Wike donated “about N10billion of public funds in unsolicited charity to states, and about N20billion pursuing his ill-fated presidential bid.”
The former federal lawmaker said that the Rivers State Governor lavished billions of state funds on delegates, while Rivers pensioners were “going to bed hungry, with some not waking up due to frustration.”
He stated this in a message sent to a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, after his victory at the PDP presidential primary held on Saturday.
The former NIMASA DG lambasted Governor Wike while describing him as a “local champion” rejected by the party delegates.
However, Wike in a reaction through his spokesperson, Kelvin Ebiri, dismissed the allegations describing them as “spurious and baseless.”
“Mr Peterside is speaking out of bitterness. Governor Wike defeated him in 2015 and he has not recovered from that experience. His governorship ambition has been thwarted twice by his principal,” apparently referring to the All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi.”
Peterside and Governor Wike both served as commissioner for works and chief of staff respectively when Amaechi was the governor of Rivers State.