Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, yesterday clarified that he has no hatred for Ijaw people.
He said he was misinterpreted and misunderstood during his last media chat in Abuja.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service and civic reception held in his honour by the NEW Associates at Abalama community in Kalabari Kingdom of the state, Wike said, “If I hate Ijaw people, I wouldn’t have nominated these people, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and Daakorima George-Kelly and nothing would have happened.
“What I said in Abuja about the Ijaw ethnic group, I know people may want to misinterpret it but that’s their business. What I said, and I will continue to say it, if we don’t work together as a people in Rivers State, it will be difficult to produce a governor. That is what I said.”
The minister described those supporting Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, in the ongoing political crisis in the state as ‘natural ingrates’.
He said: “All those around the governor are people who are natural ingrates, they are all natural ingrates, no person who is not an ingrate will associate himself with what is going on.”
Meanwhile, angry Ijaw women of Kalabari extraction yesterday vandalised billboards bearing Wike’s pictures.
The billboards which were erected at the junction leading to Abalama were in honour of Wike who was being hosted to a grand reception by Ijaw stakeholders under the platform of NEW Associates.
The reception came amidst protests from traditional rulers and people of Kalabari over a scheduled IYC Eastern Zone meeting at the same venue.
Before the commencement of the event, angry Ijaw women of Kalabari extraction had staged a protest at Oporoma community, leading to the community, vandalising the giant billboards.
The women dressed in black attires with white scarfs had early yesterday barricaded the road leading to Abalama with the intention of denying Wike access to the community.
The protesters, who were armed with placards bearing inscriptions such as “Kalabari take your stand now!”, “Wike, what do you want in Kalabari land?”, among others, were later dispatched by security operatives that accompanied the minister to the venue of the reception.
Twenty four hours before the reception, traditional rulers from Kalabari Kingdom called for a change of the venue for the event as well as that of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) which was scheduled to hold in the same community on the same day.
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