Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to the demands of the people or risk setting the country on fire.
Wike’s advice came in the wake of a meeting of South South governors and a Presidential team, headed by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of staff to President Buhari in Port Harcourt.
At the meeting, the governors made a demand for the restructuring of Nigeria and also the relocation of oil companies from Lagos to Niger Delta.
The governor spoke on a Channels TV breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily.
According to Wike, “We must understand in this country that political leadership is very key. Having the political will to implement what the people want is very serious.
He refused to delve into the cynicism with which Nigerians view public officials.
“I don’t want to talk about the issue of distrust or no trust in government. People have raised such issues, that they don’t think that nothing will come out of all this dialogue. I don’t agree with that. I believe that if the president does not do, given the opportunities he has now, then, he will be putting Nigeria on fire.”
The Niger Delta region with its rich oil deposits is is the country’s economic base providing the critical funding that is used to finance the running of government.
It has also been the most volatile part with age old agitations seeking to right the economic injustice visited on the region by the government and the multinational oil companies.
