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Stop your “irresponsible utterances”, Wike warns Minister Lai

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Those left in APC are afraid of EFCC —Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, of making “irresponsible utterances” and wants Nigerians to call him to order.

The governor, who also said that the minister should stop wild allegations against members of opposition political parties, maintained that no amount of pretence will remove the fact that Nigeria is currently in crisis due to poor governance, nepotism, marginalization and state-sponsored repression that has continued to jeopardize national unity and cohesion.

Wike stated this when he declared open the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference holding in Port Harcourt. According to him, what Nigeria needs at the moment is “forthright leadership and consensus building to steer the ship of state from the wrong direction it is headed to safer grounds”.

He said, “We are only pretending, we think that all is well with our country. The country is in crisis as poor governance, nepotism, marginalization and state-sponsored repression continue to do violence to nation unity and cohesion.

“At times like this, the country needs forthright leadership and consensus building to steer the ship of state from the wrong direction it is headed to safer grounds.

“Nigerians of goodwill must therefore call the Minister of Information to stop stoking the ambers of disharmony and divisions in the polity with his irresponsible utterances and wild allegations against members of opposition political parties.

“For some of us therefore, there is nothing nobler than being counted on this path and as long as God gives us breathe we shall remain in the trenches fighting for our democratic rights and freedoms until victory is ultimately achieved.

Read also: Again, Wike courts trouble, knocks FG over ‘pretentious’ war on graft

“But, we also believe that this is a fight that should and must be led by the media for full effect and agenda setting. This calls for greater vigilance and courage in giving effective voice to the contending issues and taking personal responsibility for factuality. It can’t be otherwise. ‎

“Therefore, when a supposed opposition goes beyond the bonds of decency in conjuring lies to rubbish and undermine every effort of ours to serve and advance the progress of the state, then the media owes society the duty to investigate and expose their mischievous intentions with the facts at their disposal.

“At any rate, those who live in glass houses, they say, should avoid throwing stones.”

Wike had a day earlier, accused the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration of making mockery of the graft war which, according to him, was orchestrated to cow and silence the opposition.

 

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