Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticized House of Representatives member Ikenga Ugochinyere over his comments on the political situation in Rivers State.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, Olayinka alleged that Ugochinyere was displeased with the recent dissolution of local government structures in Rivers State because it had cut off financial benefits for him.
“As a political player, it is normal for Ugochinyere to express concerns over the dismantling of a local government structure that his party, the Action Peoples Party (APP), helped to establish in Rivers State. From the now-removed council chairmen, we know how much was involved, and now that has come to an end,” Olayinka said.
He also dismissed Ugochinyere’s claims regarding the Rivers State House of Assembly crisis, particularly his previous assertion that Speaker Martins Amaewhule would never have access to the state budget.
“Ugochinyere once said the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, won’t ever see the Rivers State budget. He was everywhere boasting that the Assembly members were gone and nothing in this life would bring them back. But today, as Governor Siminalayi Fubara is facing the realities of governance, things are not turning out as he had predicted,” he said.
Olayinka further criticized Governor Fubara’s handling of the budget presentation process, arguing that the governor should have followed due process. “If not for political grandstanding, shouldn’t the governor know that the proper thing to do was to write to the Speaker and wait for a response on when to present the budget?” he asked.
He added that the governor’s actions suggested he was more focused on public perception than on governance. “The governor is only playing to the gallery and creating content for social media,” Olayinka said.
