Governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, has said he has nothing against the
practice of Islam in the state.
Spokesman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Abdulrazaq Barkindo,
quoted the governor to have made the comment while leading Chairman of
the forum, Kayode Fayemi, on an inspection of the demolished mosque in
the state.
Wike has been under criticism for allegedly demolishing a mosque in
the Transamadi area of Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The Rivers Governor had maintained that there was no mosque on the site.
According to Barkindo, Wike advised those chastising him for
demolishing a “non-existent mosque” to verify any story before jumping
to conclusion.
“I have nothing against Islam or any faith for that matter and as you
can see there was never a mosque on this ground instead it is a sewage
site which has been in contention between the state government and
some groups because they want to develop on prohibited land,” Wike was
quoted to have said.
“Governor Wike thanked the Chairman of the NGF who took time to visit
in order to verify for himself what he was hearing and praised his
leadership style which he described as exemplary because he did not
join those who rushed to judgement on the matter.”Simeon Nwakaudu,
spokesman of Wike, quoted Fayemi as saying he could not see any
evidence that a building existed on the disputed land.
“With what I have seen I cannot see any evidence of any building that
has been demolished here. If you are somebody who wants a place of
worship, you should find a way to oblige them. I know within your
capacity, it will be possible to find a place for them,” Fayemi
reportedly said.
“From what I have seen here, I think it is a storm in a tea Cup. There
is nothing to warrant this kind of media hype that has been given to
it”.
The NGF chairman was quoted as saying his assessment visit was
necessitated by a call to Wike after the controversy on the disputed
land broke out.
