A former lawmaker, Senator Lee Maeba, has criticised Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for portraying himself as a superhuman being.
Speaking on his problem with Wike in an interview with a national newspaper, the former Senator said it was because of his closeness to Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Part( PDP).
He wondered why the governor would flare up over his sweet heart relationship with Abubakar, noting that their frienship spans over 30 years.
“Let me tell you something. When you apportion so much right to yourself, then you are superhuman. Austin Opara was the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives when Atiku Abubakar was the Vice President. They attended caucus meeting together and National Economic Council Meeting.
“So, does it mean that Austin Opara who has been friends with Atiku for over 20 years ago will now start to beg Wike to go and see Atiku?
“So, he (Wike) is the one who doesn’t have respect for citizens.
“Like me, I met Atiku first in 1992 in Jos for the SDP campaigns. We started working together in 2003 when I became Senator. That time where was he (Wike)? When Austin Opara was working with Atiku, holding meetings, Wike was struggling to come into limelight.
“So, when you use comments like that that you are not the kind of politician that people will hold meetings against in Abuja, he goes to Abuja every day. He flies to Abuja. In fact he virtually sleeps in Abuja. So if you don’t have respect for the rights of senior citizens of the state, you don’t have respect for their right to survive and self-sustenance, then something is wrong with your own system.
“If you continue to call yourself, I am a strong Governor, we need strong institutions not strong men. The best way to democracy is strong institutions not strong men.
“A strong man is synonymous with the Idi Amin’s of those days. There are no strong men anymore. What we need are strong institutions to strengthen our institutions”, he said.
Speaking further, the former lawmaker who was removed as the Chairman of Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, said it was wrong for the governor to be boasting of being incharge of votes in the state.
Said he, “There is nobody that is in charge of any vote. Vote is individual business now. For somebody to be boasting that he is in charge of votes, means he has a rigging plan.
“Why are you in charge of votes? You cannot be in charge of votes, because everybody has individual votes to cast. If Adegboyega Oyetola was in charge of votes in Osun, he wouldn’t have lost election.
“So, for somebody to be boasting he is in charge of votes, people should ask him where do you want to get the votes? How many voters card does he have?
