Alleged Demolition Of Mosque: I am not ‘Gandollar’ or bribe taker, Wike replies Ganduje

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has replied Governor
Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State over threat to take him to court
for purportedly demolishing a mosque in Rivers, saying the Kano
governor should know that he is not ‘Gandollar’ or a man who
enjoyed bribery and falsehood.

Wike said it was baseless for Ganduje to threaten to take him to
court when he never demolished any mosque in Rivers State, accusing
him of being in the habit of making irresponsible comments about
the State.

Ganduje had threatened to take Wike to court over the purported
demolition of a mosque in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A statement issued by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to Wike
on Electronic Media on Sunday, with the heading, “Gandollar:
Remember, Governor Wike is Not Dollars,” said Ganduje was yet to
realise that Wike is not dollars that he could pocket recklessly
and sheepishly.

“Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, a man who enjoys bribery and falsehood,
must realise that Governor Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is not
dollars that he pockets with ridiculous abandon. Governor Wike is a
lover of the rule of law, due process, religious tolerance and
peaceful co-existence. He cannot be intimidated by the illiterate
threat of lawsuit from a man of low moral standing.

“Gandollars, sorry, Ganduje is still talking because he thinks
that Nigerians have forgotten about his crime against his
people.

“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”.

The Court further ruled that the claimants had no approval to
build on the disputed land,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the entire world was aware of the
above facts and that nobody had circulated any photographs or
videos of the said Mosque that Ganduje and other APC Chieftains
were harping on, as they merely wanted to use a non-existent Mosque
story to score ugly political points.

“Pray, what redress would Ganduje be seeking in court when he
sues Governor Wike? Would Ganduje tell the court to relegate the
Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning
and enthrone its Kano State Counterpart? Would Ganduje be asking
the Court to hand over jurisdiction to Kano State High Court?

“Under the Land Use Act, the governor is responsible for
allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals’ resident in
the state or to organizations for residential, agricultural,
commercial and other purposes . Perhaps, Ganduje would be telling
the Court to deny the Rivers State Governor of such powers, while
he retains same powers under the Land Use Act in Kano State. The
Press Statement attributed to Ganduje is a confirmation that this
country is at its lowest point. This is the worst form of
administrative ignorance,” the statement added.

It further said as a governor with a bruised ego, Ganduje
thought that this religious falsehood would afford him a backdoor
entry into the national good book, but noted sadly that he had
exposed himself as a terribly ignorant leader who basked in
baseless claims.

The statement said the disputed land was already before the
court, as the Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque, Port
Harcourt (Claimant) sued the Rivers State Government in 2012,
saying that having lost at the Court of First instance, these
trustees had appealed the judgment.

“On December 8, 2016 , Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, as Chairman of the
Rivers State APC Election Rerun Campaign Committee, threatened
violence on Rivers people at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium. Alongside
several APC Governors, Ganduje Ganduje called on APC Thugs to
unleash mayhem on Rivers electorate for the purpose of rigging the
rerun elections. He claimed that the aim was to ensure that the APC
took control of the House of Assembly for the purpose of impeaching
Governor Wike.

“The APC Federal Government deployed 57,000 security personnel,
billions of naira, millions of dollars, Jet Fighters and Gunboats
for the rerun elections. Rivers people stood with Governor Wike and
the APC was roundly defeated. Rivers people rejected the plot to
pocket Governor Wike by the APC rigging machine,” the statement
added.

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