“I want to tell you that, that you supported me, does not mean that you’ll ask for my liver and kidney. I’ll not give it. Let me say it that Wike himself, had always been supported and and he owes PDP a lot and anything he’s doing for any individual in PDP is like giving back to what the PDP did for him.”
Those were the exact words of Dino Melaya, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming election in Kogi State, as he explained why he would rail against Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, even after admitting having being a beneficiary of his kindness.
Dino, Senator, formerlly representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, was speaking against the backdrop of the altercation he had been having with the governor, in the last two weeks, which had led to some revelations about past happening in their relationships, including how Wike bankrolled his last effort to be governor.
A guest on The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on Arise Television, Dino who was asked by his host why he would accept assistance from Wike, a man he called unprintable names, said it was the governor that started the bitter encounter, because of his anger for not being supported in his last presidential bid.
Also describing Wike as an attention seeker, who would do anything to secure public attention, he said the support the governor gave to him in the past, was because he was convinced that he would perform in office.
“That’s why he invested his money in me and that’s why he gave me his private jet. So, what now happened that the same person you saw quality in him, is the same person – you would not put your money where you have no faith. Nobody will do that. Only a mad man will do that. So, he was invested because at that time he saw quality in me. He saw me that I was qualified to be governor of Kogi State. But because I refused to do his bidding, because I refused to support his failed presidential ambition, you now want to take on me,” he said.
Blaming the governor for the war of words, the Senator, added: “Throughout the campaign, you would never find a place where I spoke derogatorily about Governor Wike, because I respect him as somebody who had assisted me in the past. There was no time I spoke in low terms or low tunes about him. This should not be about Wike, because this is what Wike is looking for. He’s an attention seeker.
“He wants to be talked about. He wants to be in the news at all times. He has granted live coverages more than any other public officer in the world. You want to do ground-breaking of a project, you go live, you want to do foundation, you go live, you want to cast a foundation, you go live. One single project, five, six people will come, you create ceremonies and waste tax-payers money of Rivers State.
“So I want to talk about the development of Kogi State and how we’re going to make life meaningful for the the people, how we’re going to assist the youths, how we’re going to ensure that women are empowered, how we’re going to improve education in the state through ICT. Those are the issues that I’d really want to talk about and not about Oluwa Wike, who sees himself as a demi-god.”