Nigerians blast Governor Wike over ₦10m gift to Burna Boy, others

Livid young Nigerians have taken to Twitter to lambast the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for promising to give ₦10m each to Burna Boy and other artistes who performed at the Burna Boy Homecoming Concert in Port Harcourt.

In a video making rounds on social media, the Governor said, ” All of you that have come to today, the Rivers people and the Niger -Delta people that have come to perform, I am proud of you. All of you will go home with N10m each. ”

See the video HERE.

However, his comment did not sit down well with some Nigerians as they took to Twitter to slam the Governor. So far, Wike is trending at number two on the Nigerian Twitter space with over 9,500 tweets.

Twitter user, @therealdaddymo1, expressed his displeasure as he tweeted, “When they say Nigerians deserve the leaders it gets, this is part of why they say that. Gov Wike is so confident and unashamed to be paying artistes from government funds and people are hailing him but turn round and also criticize corruption in the same breath?”

Morris MonyeBlue with the handle, @Morris_Monye, showed her disappointment at the governor’s statement by simply tweeting, “Very irresponsible from Wike!”

The Twitter user, @DOlusegun, wrote, “When they say Buhari is not working, This is what they mean. They miss the government of share the money which is why @burnaboy could not politely ask Wike to use that money to pay the five-year unpaid salaries of teachers in demonstration schools in Rivers State.”

Wale Adetona with the verified Twitter handle @iSlimfit stated, “The impulse gifting by Governor Wike is so unnecessary for a state that has failed to pay gratuity & pension.”

Also, Daniel Regha lamented via his handle @DanielRegha as he wrote, “Wike is owing workers 5 yrs salaries but he’s promising to give each artiste who performed at Burna’s homecoming N10m each plus he’s gifting Burna land in Old GRA, Port Harcourt and money to build it cos Burna won ordinary Grammy; Misplaced priorities. Burna should reject the gift.”

Burna Boy was awarded the African Artist of the year at the 2020 VGMA’s. In 2020, his album Twice as Tall was nominated for the same category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making him the first Nigerian with back-to-back nominations at the Grammys.

In 2021, he won the award for Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.