The Rivers state government has disclosed that no manner of blackmail would prevent it from prosecuting the lawmaker representing Port Harcourt Federal constituency II, in the person of Hon. Chinyere Igwe.
Chinyere Igwe’s filling station was earlier sealed off on Friday by security operatives attached to the Rivers State Government House.
The filling station was among three other private business centers, owned by loyalists of a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Opara, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporting the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, that was sealed-off by the state government.
This was made public by the chief of staff to Rivers State Governor, Emeka Woke, during a Permanent Voters Card sensitization and mobilization rally by a pro-PDP group, the Grassroots Development Initiative in Mogho, Gokana local government area of the state.
Woke insisted that the State government has a constitutional obligation to decisively deal with anyone involved in acts inimical to the Nigerian economy.
Woke stated this in a statement issued by his media office and made available to newsmen on Monday.
He said, “Anybody who allows his business premises to be used for illegal oil bunkering, that premises will be shut down.
Whoever allows his hotel to harbor criminals bent on destabilizing the state, we will deal with you according to the law.”
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While urging the federal lawmaker to submit himself to security agencies for interrogation, Woke warned him to desist from misleading the unsuspecting public with spurious claims that he was being politically victimized.
He further took a swipe at Igwe for making derogatory remarks about the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, saying but for the governor’s benevolence, the federal lawmaker would have gone into political extinction.
“I listen to Chinyere Igwe yesterday talking about ingratitude. A man who had been retired politically. This is the man who spent only one term in the House of Representatives and came back home.
The immediate past governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, chased him out of Port Harcourt and he ran to Abuja.
He even contested on the platform of ACN then and lost woefully. When we had mobilized GDI and had strengthened the party (Peoples Democratic Party), we brought him back and those of them whom he said he is speaking for now.
None of them were foundation members of GDI. And His Excellency, the governor gave him a platform, first as a Commissioner and then to the National Assembly, even though he didn’t win the primary. And today, he is talking about ingratitude,” he stated.
Woke also urged media organizations in the state to be objective and abide by the ethics of journalism and resist being used as purveyors of spurious fake news.
