By Davies Iheamnachor

THE People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State have disagreed over the call by Governor Nyesom Wike that any group that wants to protest on the issue of soot in the state should direct it at the Federal Government.

Wike had on Monday while inaugurating the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency, urged the soot campaigners to demonstrate against the Federal Government in the interest of  justice.

The governor said: “I hear that people want to demonstrate that there is soot in the state.  Help us demonstrate against the Federal Government and we will all be happy.

“This is because we have no control over the sources of soot. Do I go to shutdown the Refinery? Will they not say that it is economic sabotage? Do I even have the security? Do I control the Police or the Army to go and stop oil production  at the refinery?”

Meanwhile, the Publicity Secretary of APC in the state, Mr. Chris Finebone, has stated that Governor Wike lacked the idea on how to tackle the soot, adding that it was the responsibility of the state government to end the environmental problem.

Finebone said: “Gov Wike was being disingenuous with that statement. We are not surprised that he made such a mendacious statement.

“The issue of environment is on the residual list in the Nigerian Constitution, hence, the inability of the Nigerian parliament to legislate on matters concerning the environment.

“For example, despite the setting up of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) by the Federal Government, states and local governments reserve the right to or not to set up State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Local Government Emergency Management (LEMA) respectively. For instance, Rivers State does not have SEMA.

He added: “It would have made sense if the governor listed actions the state government has undertaken concerning arresting the dangerous soot situation in Port Harcourt and environs rather than claim that his government has done the needful. What does Gov Wike precisely mean by doing the needful?”

However, in a swift reaction, the Organising Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Fyneman Ohaka, has said APC was myopic for saying that it was the responsibility of the state government to tackle the soot challenge.

Ohaka said: “Wike was very right in that statement. The activities of oil companies that were licensed to operate in the state by the federal government were responsible for the soot. Do they want the state to use its allocation to fight what they caused?”