How I was poisoned, flown out of Nigeria as Rivers Gov – Wike

The immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on Sunday recounted how he survived after being poisoned in 2018 while in office as governor.

Speaking at a thanksgiving service in the church, Wike revealed that doctors told him that his intestines were all black, a situation he believed arose from the poisoning that reportedly took place at the state government’s secretariat.

He, however, expressed gratitude that he survived the poison miraculously to the surprise of the doctors who diagnosed him.

His words: “There is a lot to thank God for; from 2015 to 2023 God was in charge; everybody who knew how we came to power knew it was turbulent, but God saw us through. I will give three instances why we need to thank God. While in your office, so many people think as governor everything is going on well with you.”

“As governor, nobody wants to ask if you are well, all is, you wake up in the morning, see text messages, accounts you are to send money to… December 2018, that day was the day my former Chief of Staff was to have Thanksgiving ceremony, and I was to attend that event on a Sunday. On that Sunday, I never came down from my room, it was bad. For those who attended the January 1st State Banquet of 2019, will know that I never spoke that day, I just sat down there and told my deputy to speak on my behalf, people didn’t know what was going on.

“After that banquet, 12:00 am midnight, I was taken out of the country because I thought it was over, when we got to Beirut the doctors told me they had to do so many tests…they came back the next morning and said it was bad; my kidney, liver were gone.

“Doctors told me I’d been poisoned and that my liver and kidney were no longer functioning. I believe I was poisoned at the secretariat. To God be the glory, I survived it.”

“I never knew that I had been poisoned in our campaign secretariat; my intestines were all black. The doctors did everything they could do, and the next day the doctors came and said everything was turning around; to the glory of God after about one week, they said I could then go. I came back to Nigeria and told those who are close to me that we wouldn’t stop at anybody’s house because I could not identify how I was poisoned; everyone was a suspect to me.

“When I was going through my presidential primaries, my wife called me from London that she has been diagnosed with cancer, I called my G5 members who were supporting me, I said there is a problem and I don’t think I can continue with this race; I called my wife back and she said no, continue so we started (the race).

“On the night of the primaries, I went with my wife to Abuja, and from nowhere, we were called that fire gutted my wife’s room. We called the fire service everything was burnt; up to today, we haven’t repaired that room… and nobody knew, I just kept quiet. That is why I said some people don’t ask what I’m passing through–you just want me to give you! give you! you don’t even know if I’m dying.

“But I thank God today that my wife is hale and hearty. When people text me, my wife is sick, my mother is at the hospital, I always say should I text back, my wife is also in hospital? If anything should have happened you can imagine the effect on my children.

“The last one, as we finished the primary, my wife went to Lagos to bring my daughter, they landed at the air force base, and I said when they land I will just enter and go to Lagos (somebody was waiting for me that I must see). After 15 minutes of take-off, we heard a sound, I saw the air hostess running. I rushed to the cockpit, but the door was locked; nobody to communicate with; she ran back and told us one engine is gone; the pilot said it’s safer for us to turn back (we were three)…by the grace of God before we landed, we saw several ambulances, fire service trucks line up; I didn’t know the pilot had communicated with them that there was a serious problem, to the glory of God we landed safely; people just see me as a strong man; part of leadership is not to frighten one’s supporters,” he said.