Coronavirus palliatives: Wike accuses FG of insulting Rivers state

- Governor Wike is displeased with the federal government for allegedly insulting the people of Rivers state

- The Rivers chief executive said the state was not asked what it needed before being given a trailer load of rice

- Wike also claimed that the rice was unfit for human consumption and had to be rejected

The governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, has told residents that he rejected palliatives from the Federal Government because it insulted the state.

Leadership reports that Wike made this allegation in a televised press conference where he said the state was also not contacted on what it needed.

According to Wike, the trailer load of rice offered by FG was also not fit for human consumption.

The governor said: “You can’t just send rice to us without asking if that is what we want. Rivers people prefer garri to rice. In fact, the rice is expired.”

He added that when he demanded a commodity of better quality for his people, he was told to go to Cross River state to get it.

This, he said, was an insult to the oil-rich south-south state that as at Thursday, April 30 had recorded 13 confirmed cases of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wike said: “You don’t have to lose your dignity because you are poor. Come to think of it, we are not the only state that rejected the Federal Government palliatives.

“Oyo State rejected it, Akwa Ibom State rejected it. They are not edible. They even told us to go to Cross River State to carry a trailer-load of rice. I said no, I cannot go to Cross River to carry rice for Rivers people."

Legit.ng reported also that Governor Wike accused the federal government of mapping the state out of its support blueprint for other states in combating the novel coronavirus.

Wike made the allegation on Thursday, April 30, while receiving the new commissioner of police in Rivers, Joseph Mukan, who replaced Mustapha Dandaura.

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According to the governor, the federal government is prioritising on some states including Kano, Lagos and Ogun in its supportive efforts towards ending the coronavirus crisis.

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Source: Legit.ng