The Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, said the Igbos are key to the continued existence of Nigeria as a country.
Wike made this assertion against the backdrop of the bitter exchange between him and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, following the killings at Oyigbo area of the state in the wake of the violence that trailed the EndSARS protest.
The reprisal killings of some Igbo youths by soldiers was blamed on the governor by IPOB.
Wike on Sunday again denied the secessionist group’s claim during a meeting with the South-East governors alongside the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo and the Igbo community in the state at Government House, Port Harcourt.
He went on to speak highly of the Igbo people saying without them ‘there can’t be Nigeria.’
His word, “Igbos are innovative and hardworking. There can’t be Nigeria without Igbos. Nobody should take them for granted. But that doesn’t mean you must allow criminals to spoil your name.
“If I hate Igbo, I won’t appoint your son into my state cabinet two times. But you have to obey rules. Don’t allow criminals to dictate to you.”
