The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has lambasted his counterpart from Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje over plans to drag him to court, saying he is not a dollar bill which Ganduje can “pocket sheepishly and recklessly”.
Ganduje had threatened to sue Wike over demolition of Mosque in Rivers state.
But, Wike in a statement issued by his media aide Simeon Nwakaudu reads: “It beats my imagination that Kano State Governor, Abdulahi Umar Ganduje is still in the habit of making irresponsible comments about Rivers State. Up till now, Ganduje is yet to realise that Governor Wike is not dollars that he can pocket recklessly and sheepishly.
“I saw a statement released by Abdulahi Umar Ganduje. He said that he will sue Governor Wike over the falsehood that a Mosque was demolished in Port Harcourt. For the umpteenth time, no Mosque was demolished by Governor Wike. No Mosque was demolished by the Rivers State Government.
”The story was a fabrication by one Alhaji Tobacco. The fabrication was orchestrated by Daily Trust and The Nation Newspapers for obvious mischievous political reasons. These baseless press releases confirm the ugly plot.
“Several journalists and civil society groups have visited the disputed land and no traces of any Mosque were found at the location. Governor Wike personally led journalists to the disputed land and the world saw that no Mosque existed there.
“On Saturday, the Rivers State Islamic Leader/Vice President General, Rivers State Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Nasir Uhor stated that there was no physical structure of a Mosque at the disputed land at Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt. He said the insinuation that any structure was at that location was not true. He also admitted that a Rivers State High Court confirmed that the disputed land belongs to the Rivers State Government.
“Suit Number PHC/986/2012 between Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque, Port Harcourt (Claimant) and the Commissioner, Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning, Rivers State, the Governor of Rivers State and the Attorney General of Rivers State (Defendants) was resolved by Justice G.O. Omereji on Tuesday, 27th November, 2018. This matter pre-dated Governor Wike.
“Justice Omereji of the Rivers State High Court held that: “The defendants have in Exhibits J, J1 and J2 inclusive of Exhibit K, which is the Certificate of Title, established that the land, the subject matter of this suit, was acquired in 1959 by the Government.
“My humble opinion is that the claimants have not established that they have better title to the land, the subject matter of this suit and they have not established that at the material time they were in possession and that the defendants do not have better title to the land”.
This is an excellent press release by Governor Wike. In addition to his excellent explanation, no governor should waiver in demolishing mosques or churches erected illegally in their states. Nigeria is a secular state, so if mosques and churches are to be built, the potential builders must adhere to extant town planning rules.
However, there was no mosque on the precious piece of land that some unscrupulous Muslims tried to steal with 419 documents from the state government. I am proud of Rivers state government for not capitulating to that attempted crime in fear of offending Muslims and Northerners. .