Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has responded sharply to former Rivers State Governor, Dr Peter Odili, asserting that “an elder statesman should not constantly behave like a trader or a sycophant.”
Speaking at a Special Thanksgiving Service organised by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, at the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in the Oro-Igwe/Eliogbolo Archdeaconry Church of the Holy Spirit, Eliozu Parish, Port Harcourt, Wike lamented the unfortunate reality that someone who should embody the role of an elder statesman and be regarded as a father figure has instead reduced himself to that of a sycophant and a trader.
In a statement by Lere Olayinka, his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka Wike questioned, “Must you always be a trader? After serving as governor for eight years, what more do you seek?”
Wike continued, “I didn’t want to respond initially, but after receiving a call last night regarding comments made on social media, I felt it necessary to investigate. This morning, I came across Dr Odili’s statements in the newspapers.
“What did he say? He claimed that the current governor has managed to thwart a single individual from turning Rivers State into his personal estate.
“But I ask, between Dr Odili and me, who has truly transformed Rivers State into a private estate? His wife serves as the Chair of the Governing Council, one daughter is a commissioner, another is a judge, and he himself acts as the general overseer. Who is really treating Rivers State as his own domain? If given the opportunity, I suspect he would even orchestrate a marriage for the governor.
“It was his nephew, his late brother’s son, who was recommended for a commissioner position. Instead, he handed that opportunity to his own daughter. Is this what we call an elder statesman?”
Continuing his remarks, the FCT Minister expressed his disappointment that Dr Odili, blinded by political flattery, has forgotten his previous words. “All of you here remember how he praised me to the skies when I was governor. He even stated that no past governor of Rivers State had accomplished more than I had.
“In 2007, after leaving office, he couldn’t get near power in the state because Amaechi was the governor. He was effectively irrelevant!
“As someone once said, God uses certain individuals to elevate others. When I became governor in 2015, I won’t say I resurrected him, but I certainly revitalised his political presence.
“You all know about PAMO University. If it weren’t for us, that institution wouldn’t exist. Rivers State sponsored 100 students each session, with each student paying nothing less than N5 million per semester. At that time, people were attacking me relentlessly.
“I personally commissioned Julius Berger to build a residence for him. He invited everyone to his home to showcase the love Wike had shown him, taking them on tours of the house.
“Now, because you organised a Christmas Carol for the governor, I won’t criticise your celebration. But why demean yourself to such an extent? People will witness you on television extolling how God used me to politically revive you.
“By all means celebrate your Christmas Carol, gather your contributions, but leave me out of it.
“The governor, whom we all supported, has not even completed one year in office, yet the same Odili is already claiming he has surpassed all previous governors of Rivers State.
“When I was in office, he argued that I had exceeded the achievements of all past governors, including him. What can he possibly show for his eight years in office? Yet here he is, stating that a governor who has just begun has outperformed all previous leaders.
“You spent eight years as governor, and now you’re saying someone who hasn’t even reached one year in office has already surpassed your record—what kind of elder statesmanship is that?
“During my tenure, my photos adorned every corner of his house—kitchen, living room, even the toilet. Now, all those photographs have vanished.”
In reflection on such sycophantic behaviour, Wike asked, “What can I truly learn from this kind of elder? What wisdom can one extract from him? One moment he says one thing, and the next, he contradicts himself.
“If your children were to ask, ‘Is this not the same man you once praised?’ what would you say?””
On the State governorship issue, the Minister asked; “When I was plotting who will be governor after me, was he (Odili) there? Then, he was complaining about this governor, saying that he couldn’t stand before the public to talk. But today, he is organizing Christmas Carol for the same governor he was against then.
“He has forgotten all that he said in the past. I named this after you, I named that after your wife. What have I not done?
“You said we should not be part of the government, we have left. We are managing, you have taken assembly money, they are not dying of hunger and they will not die of hunger. We are okay. I’m focusing on my job in Abuja and all these sycophancy won’t take him to the level I have attained.
“This is a man who wanted to run for president then, he didn’t have the balls, he chickened out. Simply because Obasanjo said no, he will not contest, he ran away. Because of him, I never invited Obasanjo to Rivers State to commission projects. I felt it will humiliate him.”