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Tag: Wike and Fubara

  • Between Wike and Fubara

    Between Wike and Fubara

    Whatever name: errant godfather bootlicker, or  a loquacious mischief maker, etc.; that his media bashers may call him, Wike, a versatile, shrewd  master of his game, has since the run up to 2023 elections, defined the character and the colour of Nigerian politics just as he remains the main issue of 2027 election. While President Tinubu, overwhelmed by a deluge of defecting politicians, trying to escape from a sinking ship, is laughing at his political foes and unthinking ‘Obidients’ who only yesterday swore to pull his government down, Wike remains unapologetic as he embarks with an unusual fervour in his self-assigned crusade of ensuring President Tinubu’s victory in Rivers in 2027. Towards this, he has passed ‘fatwa’ declaring Rivers State close to other contestants in 2007.

    Wike, a very versatile and resourceful politician is a man whose adversaries often underestimate until almost too late. The testimony is in the number of wars he waged and won since joining politics at the grass root level as a local council chairman in his state. It is on record that Wike has never lost any political battle.

    His first victim was Rotimi Amaechi, his dependable and faithful ally during his war against dictatorship of Obasanjo who substituted Amaechi’s name after winning a PDP primary with that of the president’s favourite. Wike fought the judicial battle while Amaechi took refuge in Ghana, returning only after judicial victory was secured.  When they however fell apart over sharing of spoils of war, Amaechi came out with bruised nose.

    That encounter which occurred on in Port Harcourt on November 11, 2015 where, gun-toting security men attached to Wike’s convoy confronted Amaechi’s over 50 SARS personnel, soldiers and mobile policemen ended in a draw. The second encounter was when Amaechi suspended the chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area which had become Wike’s recruiting base for thugs in readiness for the 2015 election. But President Jonathan came to Wike’s aid by directing Joseph Mbu of Rivers State Police command to illegally take over the LGA.

    Wike won the third round when he defeated Amaechi as a sitting governor along with his candidate in the governorship election. When Itse Sagay, alleged “Wike climbed to the governorship seat over dead bodies”, Wike celebrated his victory by declaring through his information commissioner that all he did was to “urge his people to defend their right to freely choose their leaders with their blood”. With Wike’s formation of a rainbow coalition of PDP and APC in Rivers State, Amaechi without a political base has been forced to escape to ADC, a ready-made vehicle for disgruntled and frustrated politicians.

    It was the turn of IGP Ibrahim Idris and Major General Kasimu Abdulkarim of Port Harcourt sixth division to be tamed following the beheading of some security officers during Rivers State legislative rerun election, in Ujju community near Omoku on December 10 2016. When the service personnel attached to Wike were fingered following the recovery of the uniform of the beheaded officers in the bush, Wike’s question which remained unanswered was “were there polling units in the forest?

    Moving to the national level after consolidating his state, Wike literarily retired Iyorchia Ayu, PDP former chairman he had challenged to account for the sum of N1b allegedly raked in from sales of forms to aspiring political office holders.

    Wike, more than any other PDP politician, probably caused Atiku Abubakar the loss of the 2023 presidential election. After he and Tambuwal breached PDP zoning policy, Wike who has driven all those involved in that fraud from Atiku to Tambuwal and David Mark to ADC, was further incensed by Atiku who settled for Ifeanyi Okowa to spite Wike despite securing 14 of the 19 votes of PDP leading lights that carried out the screening exercise.

    In the battle for the soul of PDP against Bode George, his estranged godfather, and Makinde who disagreed with him over the controversial Ibadan convention which ended in fisticuff with use of thugs at their Abuja Wadata plaza headquarters, it was his opponents that came out calling on Trump to come and solve their intraparty crisis.

    Unfortunately, after series of external victories, Whirlwind Wike who always ensures those who sow the wind reap the whirlwind, has been drawn back home to face the battle he thought he had won.

    Fubara, against the run of Rivers politics, often dominated by Ikwere Igbos was installed as the first governor of Ijaw extraction for reasons not totally altruistic.  But you never know a man until he is in power or has acquired wealth.  Just a few months into his four years tenure, Fubara tried to assert his own independence.  Fubara, ‘a mistake’, to borrow Rivers Speaker’s phrase was doing this in breach of the constitution. He employed the services of media meddlers and the like of Ugochinchere, an interloper from Imo state.

    Fubara, who was saved from impeachment at the last minute by the president’s declaration of state of emergency, was again served notice of impeachment for an alleged bombing of the assembly complex, conducting LGA election in defiance of court order and presentation of budget to a three-man assembly while he side-lined 27 elected members of the state assembly. After being saved by the president’s declaration of emergency rule, Fubara learnt no lesson from his six months ordeal. He is yet to understand the intrigue that goes into balancing the interest of pressure groups and public interest in a democracy, the deviousness and ruthlessness of office.

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    Back from emergency rule, one would have thought Fubara would have realised that “politics is the art of the possible’’ where compromise is a badge of honour. Now served with another impeachment notice last week, Fubara who has learnt nothing from his six months ordeal during which other people helped him to fight his battle is probably hoping to be saved by appeal to his Ijaw nation, just as he did few months back.

    A Yoruba axiom crudely translated says someone who is aware of enemies plan to have him roasted should not rub his body with inflammable oil.  The question Fubara sympathisers, including the APC to which he recently decamped is not asking him, is why he is deliberately breaching the constitution. But for the appointment of a sole administrator during the emergency who raised a moral question about NBA holding on to unappropriated N300m Fubara donated on the understanding that Rivers would host NBA annual conference, no one would have discovered that NBA refused to refund the money even after the venue had been unilaterally changed by some ignoble men in NBA protesting president’s declaration of state of emergency in Rivers. Supporting NBA’s right to hold on to the money, the chairman of the NBA 2025 Conference Planning Committee, Emeka Obegolu (SAN) said that the money was “an unconditional gift to support the event”.

    That incident is enough reason for the Rivers State House of Assembly to insist Fubara does the right thing. And who do you blame if such impunity and deliberate breach of the constitution provided additional incentive for Wike, who holds no hostages, set in his ways and would do whatever he says he would do no matter how mean?

    Wike had during his recent visit to some traditional rulers in Rivers criticized Fubara saying he would not secure re-election after accusing him of failing to honour their political agreement. But the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, under the leadership of Dr Alaye Tari Theophilus, has reaffirmed its total, unwavering, and unequivocal support for Governor Siminalayi Fubara. And while “The Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide categorically states that it does not recognise, accept, or align with any political arrangements or agreements being promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike”, Fubara was not cautioned about his breach of the constitution.

  • I’ve made peace with Wike, says Fubara

    I’ve made peace with Wike, says Fubara

    • Fubara meets Tinubu

    • Rivers National Assembly caucus urges unity

    Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, for the second time since his resumption on Friday, declared yesterday that peace had returned to the state.

    He also acknowledged that Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike is his “leader” and “principal”.

    In his broadcast on Friday, Fubara spoke on his peace deal with Wike and lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his “fatherly” decision on Rivers.

     “Fubara and his principal are working together. Thank you”, the President told inquisitive reporters at Aso Villa yesterday.

    The governor spoke after a meeting with President Tinubu at the seat of government in Abuja.

    Giving an insight into his visit to the President, Fubara said: “You’re aware that suspension was lifted midnight 17, and I came in on the 19. Ideally, it’s proper for me to see Mr. President and to tell him that I’m back, and I’ve also resumed my responsibility as the governor of Rivers State.

    “It’s not much. It’s father-to-son discussion, telling him thank you and the areas where, if at all there should be any issue, for him to guide me properly so we don’t be in any situation that will bring crisis again. That’s all”, he explained.

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    Last Wednesday, the President lifted the emergency rule that suspended Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, and House of Assembly members from office for six months.

     Tinubu slammed the emergency rule on March 18 to avert total breakdown of law and order triggered by bickering between the governor and the minister.

    It was believed that the President’s intervention played a vital role in preventing the escalation of a brewing crisis and in brokering truce between Fubara and Wike while the emergency rule held sway in the Southsouth state.

    Speaking further on what transpired at the meeting, he explained: “He (President) advised me on what to do and how to go in this life”.

    When asked about the state of the political truce in Rivers, Fubara dismissed suggestions that the peace with Wike was fragile or superficial.

    “I don’t know what you mean by if this is a paper peace. As far as I’m concerned, we have made peace,” he told reporters.

    Rivers National Assembly caucus urges unity

    From the Rivers State Caucus in the National Assembly came yesterday a piece of advice to Governor Fubara and members of the House of Assembly:  demonstrate sincere commitment, anchored on openness, unity.

    The governor and the lawmakers were also told to focus on ensuring they accomplish purposeful delivery of dividends of democracy to the people.

    The caucus praised President Tinubu for lifting the six-month suspension of democratic structures in the state which, they said, was necessary following growing security challenges that threatened the peace, political, and economic situation of the state.

    Their advice is contained in a joint statement by Senator Barinada Mpigi, Dum Dekor, O.K Chinda and Cyril Hart, the caucus secretary.

    They also called on elders, leaders, stakeholders, and the people of Rivers to embrace togetherness by supporting Governor Fubara, and members of the Assembly in their resolve to work for the interest of the state.

     The federal lawmakers also pledged their commitment to protecting the interest of Rivers State at all times.

    The statement reads: “We note that although the invocation of emergency rule on March 18, 2025, elicited mixed reactions from concerned individuals, members of the caucus are happy that President Tinubu, being a democrat, has taken the right decision in the resumption of all democratic apparatus in the state.

    Indeed, this has further shown his commitment to democratic norms, peace, unity, and development of Rivers State and the country.

    “Conscious that lessons had been learnt; experiences garnered, the caucus urges all stakeholders in Rivers State to embrace true peace, and genuine reconciliation for the good of all.

    “Also, we urge Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Martins Amaewule-led Assembly to demonstrate unfeigned commitment, anchored on openness, unity, and focus towards ensuring that they accomplish purposeful delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers State.

    “Going forward, the caucus calls on our elders, leaders, stakeholders, and the people of Rivers to by support Governor Fubara, and the Assembly in their resolve to work for the interest of the state. In doing this, all the indigenes and lovers of Rivers State must eschew bickering, propaganda, cleavages, media hypes, and some other narrow-minded persuasions not necessary for the development of the state.

    “We remain committed to protecting the interest of Rivers State at all times and shall always work towards a harmonious and progressive relationship of all stakeholders.”

  • Wike: Rivers LG poll clears coast for Fubara’s return

    Wike: Rivers LG poll clears coast for Fubara’s return

    • Suspended governor’s absence on election day raises concerns

    • Massive voters’ turnout in rural communities

    • APC wins in first declared result

    Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has said that Rivers State is only a step away from the lifting of its emergency rule.

    This, he said, followed the successful conduct of the local government elections conducted in the state yesterday.

    Wike, the immediate past governor of the state, said with the emergency rule due to expire on September 18, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the state House of Assembly “will come back to their job.”

    He spoke to reporters soon after casting his vote at about 11:15am in Rumepirikom, Ward 9, Unit 007 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

    The elections were conducted across the 23 local government areas.

    It was generally peaceful.

    Turnout of voters, though massive in the rural communities, was low in the cities.

    Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor were devoid of their usual hustling and bustling as many residents chose to stay indoors.

    Apart from regular patrols by security agencies, especially the police and persons on essential duties, other vehicles were off the roads in compliance with the restrictions on human and vehicular movement by the police.

    The ever busy Port Harcourt Slaughter Road, Ada George, Elekahia and other areas were deserted while all markets, malls and other business areas were shut down.

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    Youths were seen playing football on major roads.

    But it was a different story in the rural areas, particularly Ogoni communities like Baroko, Bera, Bidera and Biera, where opinion leaders mobilised residents to the various polling units to cast their votes.

    A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Prince Chibudom Nwuche, was seen monitoring the exercise as an election observer.

    However, suspended Governor Fubara was not sighted in Port Harcourt or his community in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area.

    His ward 5 in Opobo-Nkoro was said to have witnessed little voting activity.

    It was also learnt that leaders of the disbanded Simplified Movement across the state stayed away from the elections

    Sources said Fubara was out of the country.

    The Sole Administrator, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), went round to monitor the election.

    He was seen moving around polling units to observe the process and to ensure that the exercise was peaceful and orderly.

    The FCT Minister described the exercise as peaceful.

    He played down the low turnout of voters in places like Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor, saying: “When you go to commercial areas, you don’t expect a large turnout of people. But when you go to residential areas, you expect a huge turnout.

    “Particularly as I am here now, this is my community; you can see the large turnout. So it is in other areas.

    “If you go to the rural areas, you expect more participation. For those people who are non- indigenes of Rivers State, they feel they don’t have any one participating in election.

    “I am very happy with the turnout of people. I have got reports from the rural areas that people came out to exercise their franchise.”

    Wike said since the election was conducted in accordance with all legal processes, there was nothing to worry about in the actions of some aggrieved persons.

    He credited President Bola Tinubu for the successful conduct of the election.

    His words: “We have to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for making sure that this election is conducted.

    “First of all, if election is not conducted, you know the Supreme Court had said there is nothing like technical committee, and if there are no elected people, funds will not come from the Federation Account to the local government councils, and that means that if the emergency rule is lifted without local government election, we would still have the same problem.

    “Now that the local government election has been conducted, it means that there are elected people. Therefore, they will get funds directly from the Federation Account.

    “Everybody is coming out for this election in order to stabilise the grassroots.

    “We are very glad we are conducting this election, and at the end of the day, the elected people will emerge and sworn in, and we know that we have elected people.”

    “I am very happy. It means that people identify with the election. You have not heard of any violence. You have not heard of the carrying of ballot boxes.

    “You see that the electoral materials are there. People are there casting their votes. As far as we are concerned, the election is very peaceful.

    A suspended Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member of the House of Assembly, Igwe Aforji (Eleme Constituency), acknowledged the orderly conduct of the election.

    “I commend the organisers of the election. I can confess to you that we have never had it this good at the grassroots level. It has manifested today that the people are interested in knowing who will be their chairmen and councilors,” he said.

    He also hailed the people of Eleme for coming out en masse to take part in the election.

    He said: “I believe that nobody will contest (the result of) this election, because it reflects the wish of the people.

    “The turnout shows that everybody wants the candidate of the APC and I believe that he is cruising to victory. He is a good product.

    “Nobody will want to contest this election because even me, as a PDP member, I know he is going to win.”

    The APC chairmanship candidate in Gokana, Confidence Deko, described the election as free, fair and most credible.

    He said: “It was a peaceful election we had around here. What you see here is massive. That is to tell you how the people embrace the election.”

    The South-South Chairman of APC, Victor Giadom, said the orderly conduct of the election was a sign of better things to come in 2027.

    He said: “This is a sign of what will happen in the 2027 general elections. The election was peaceful. There was no violence.

    “We have a united front for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu where all shades of political opinions come together to foster stability and the future appears to be exceedingly bright.”

    Sole Administrator Ibas, in a statement signed by the Senior Special Adviser on Media, Rivers State Government, Hector Igbikiowubo, expressed profound satisfaction at the peaceful and orderly conduct of the local government election.

    He described it as a decisive and positive step towards restoring full democratic governance at the grassroots level.

    Ibas said he was highly encouraged by the commendable conduct of voters and election officials, which he said created a calm and secure atmosphere for the exercise.

    Ibas said: “I am very happy with what I have witnessed today. The process has been notably peaceful, from the significant turnout to the orderly conduct of both voters and election officials.

    “I am confident that at the end of the day, we will have a credible set of results that we will all be proud of as a state.” 

    He said situation reports from across the state corroborated his firsthand observations, pointing to a smooth, credible and largely incident-free exercise.

    “Generally, the situation has been calm and seamless across the state.

    “We have not received any major negative report, which is a testament to the collective desire for peace and normalcy.”

    Ibas said that the people of Rivers had unequivocally shown their desire to elect a legitimate leadership that they could identify with at the local level.

    He insisted that the successful poll was in direct alignment with the primary objective of his mandate to stabilise the state and return it to democracy.

    He said: “Certainly, all indigenes of Rivers State want and deserve grassroots leadership they can call their own. That is what this process represents.

    “For me, facilitating this foundational tier of democracy is a core objective of my mandate: to put the state back on its stable, democratic path and to empower its people.”

    The state of emergency was declared on March 18 by President Tinubu following months of a running battle that pitted Fubara and his supporters against Wike and his supporters including the majority of the state’s lawmakers.

    In the heat of the crisis, the suspended governor ordered the demolition of the state House of Assembly complex and recognised four members of the state House of Assembly who were loyal to him as constituting the legislative arm.

    Some explosions also occurred in the state following threats by some people to cause trouble on account of the crisis.

    The Supreme Court, in a February 28, 2025 ruling in respect of about eight consolidated appeals on the political crisis in the state, said: “A government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    “In this case, the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot.

    “As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”

    Tinubu had said  in a broadcast: “Having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.”

    Consequently, the Governor, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State were suspended for an initial period of six months and Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) was nominated as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state.

    Three months after the emergency rule went into effect, Tinubu convened a high-level peace meeting at the State House in Abuja, bringing together key actors in the conflict for a rare face-to-face dialogue.

    At the closed-door meeting were Fubara, Wike, suspended Rivers Speaker Martins Amaewhule, and several other lawmakers embroiled in the dispute.

    Wike confirmed later that the parties to the Rivers State dispute had settled their differences and machinery had been set in motion for the restoration of all suspended democratic activities and institutions.

    APC wins in first declared LG poll result

     Early results yesterday showed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had established a massive lead following the ongoing computation of the local government elections.

     It was gathered that the APC was cruising to victory in 20 local government areas while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was doing well in three.

     Already, the APC had been declared winner of the Tai Local Government Area.

     APC in a declared result was said to have polled 70,080 to defeat the PDP, which came a distant second with 1,245 votes.

     The total valid votes were declared as 72,770; rejected votes, 326 while total number of votes was 73,096.

  • New Rivers Accord: Is it peace at last or Accord Concordia?

    New Rivers Accord: Is it peace at last or Accord Concordia?

    It was the flamboyant and bombastic late politician from the East, Kinglsey Ozumba Mbadiwe, that coined the phraseology,  Accord Concordia. For him there was accord when his party the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) entered into a strange alliance with the late Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe’s party, the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP). But when the Accord crumbled and some prominent NPP appointees defected to NPN, K. O. Mbadiwe described the development as “Accord Concordia”

     In fact, many series of such “Accord Concordia”, have occurred in Rivers State since the political crisis between the camp of former Governor Nyesom Wike and that of his successor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, began in October 2023.

    Accord was first reached on December 19, 2023 between the two camps. That agreement, a document that contained eight-point resolution, was designed to nip the escalating crisis in the bud before it loomed large. It was brokered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who foresaw bigger troubles and  acted as a father, a peacemaker to avert a looming danger.

    Prior to that accord, Rivers was on edge. The House of Assembly Complex was attacked and burnt by arsonists. The complex was later pulled down by the state government and the lawmakers issued a notice of impeachment to the governor. The state was in disarray as each camp hauled missiles at each other.

    Therefore, when President Tinubu crafted the agreement and brought them to the roundtable, genuine lovers of peace hailed the President and believed that he had halted Rivers political tragedy. But  crisis merchants grumbled and shopped for spanners to clog the wheel of progress.

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    In fact, all the parties acquiesced to the demands of the resolutions, signed the document and made public promises to ensure its implementation. But no sooner had they returned to Rivers than the famous KO Mbadiwe’s accord concordia befell the agreement. There were discordant tunes that compelled the shredding of the peace document.

    Immediately after Tinubu’s intervention, regretted by the crisis actors as the road not taken, was ignorantly dismissed, Rivers descended helplessly into a theatre of the absurd. The actors besieged the judiciary with multiple litigations, compromising and compelling the third arm of government to be dishing litany of orders and counter orders. The executive practically and solely relied on orders described by many stakeholders as frivolous to sustain its existence.

    Basking on the euphoria of some of the orders, Fubara recognized three lawmakers led by Victor Oko-Jumbo and categorised the rest of 27 lawmakers as non-existent. Indeed, one of the court orders suggested that other 27 lawmakers led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule automatically lost their seats for purportedly declaring for the APC on December 11. The same order recognised Oko-Jumbo as a speaker and empowered him to lead other two lawmakers in transacting the legislative businesses of the government.

    The Oko-Jumbo and his group received 2024 Appropriation Bill and swiftly turned it into a budget within two days. They did the same with the 2025 appropriation bill. They further

    received and confirmed appointees of the governor as commissioners and special advisers. They screened and confirmed board members appointed by Fubara, who trusted the injunctions without waiting for the determination of the substantive case.

    He also acted without deference to a subsisting judgement of the Justice Omotosho’s Federal High Court, which recognized Amaewhule as the Speaker and warned the governor against meddling in the affairs of the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.

    The judgement also mandated the governor to release the lawmakers’ seized salaries and allowances. But Omotosho’s judgement was never obeyed because those hanging around Fubara told him that the plaintiffs did not disclose a material facts bordering on the their defections to the judge.

    Court orders continued to worsen the Rivers crisis and succeeded in entrapping the local government election that was held on October 5th, 2024. The buildup to the local government election escalated the tension in Rivers. Fubara refused to conduct the election before the expiration of the tenures of the  subsisting local government chairmen and councilors.

    The chairmen, who acted as Fubara’s campaign coordinators in their various councils in 2023, were angry and vowed not to vacate their offices citing tenure elongation granted them by a new law of th Amaewhule-led House of Assembly. When their tenures eventually expired on June 17, they were dethroned in violent protests that engulfed the entire councils. That day was bloody as some persons including security agents were killed in the ensuing melee. The violence was so widespread that it compelled the police to take over the councils’ headquarters.

    But Fubara was determined to take over the councils from his foes. He immediately appointed Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of the local government areas while expediting the process of conducting the local government elections. He went ahead with the election despite another subsisting order of the Federal High court that invalidated the process. Having lost out of the state’s chapter of the PDP,  the governor pushed all his candidates for the election to the little known All Peoples Party (APP) and got them elected as chairmen and councilors.

    But the Amaewhule-led lawmakers continued to pursue their court cases against Fubara. The lawmakers filed new suits to stop all the revenue allocations from the federal government to the state. They also pushed the disputed Omotosho’s judgement as well as the case against the conduct of the local government election to the Supreme Court.

    The crisis escalated and was  heralded intermittently with bomb blasts and attacks on some political party headquarters. But the Supreme Court’s judgement of February 28 resolved all the disputes. In its key judgements, the apex court voided the budgets passed by the Oko-Jumbo’s group of lawmakers. The judgement nullified the October 5th local government election. It recognized Amaewhule-led House of Assembly as the authentic and the only House of Assembly in Rivers. The judgement further rubbished the claims that the lawmakers defected to the APC.and automatically lost their seats

    The court came hard on Fubara describing him as a despot and promulgated a verdict that there was no government in Rivers. The court ordered Fubara in the spirits of the Omotosho’s judgement to go and re-present the budget and ordered the withholding of Rivers allocations pending the proper presentation and approval of an appropriation bill by the authentic Rivers House of Assembly.

    Instead of calming down the toxic political atmosphere, the judgement increased the tempo of political fisticuffs between Fubara and the House of Assembly. While the lawmakers were determined to remove the governor, Fubara’s supporters vowed to thwart the plot.

    Fubara and the lawmakers started playing games with the implementation of the judgement. Supporters began to issue threats of violence and even gave non-indigenes living in Rivers and ultimatum to vacate the state. They started carrying out their threats with the bombing of oil and gas infrastructures in the state. Rivers was on the precipice tilting towards bloodshed of unimaginable proportions.

    But President Tinubu wielded the big stick following his declaration of the state of emergency after getting security briefs from his service chiefs. The emergency rule immediately deescalated the crisis by calming down the tensed political atmosphere.

    In his emergency rule declaration, Tinubu suspended the two warring arms of government; the executive led by Fubara and the legislature led by Amaewhule. He appointed the retired Vice-Admiral lbok Ete-Ibas, a former Naval Chief as a sole administrator for Rivers. Tinubu’s decisions got the nod of the National Assembly and Ibas resumed the governance of Rivers on March 19, 2025.

    Ibas was given the first six months to restore peace in Rivers while all the political gladiators were asked to use the same period to settle their rifts and work together for Rivers common interest.

    In the interest of Rivers, there have been efforts to reconcile the warring gladiators in the state. Prior to the first attempt by President, who drafted the eight-point resolution, the state elders tried to make peace. However, stakeholders queried their neutrality and concluded that they had taken sides in the disputes.

    Following the six-month emergency rule, Fubara did not quickly initiate a reconciliation process. He took some napping times off perhaps to rest and think through the entire crisis ravaging his state. He was later led to Wike by some APC governors. The FCT Minister  told him to seek the faces of the persons he offended especially the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    But there was silence after the meeting. While Fubara gave an impression that he was going through the reconciliation, Wike told the public that since the first day Fubara met with him, he had not set his eyes on him again. In fact, he said there was nothing like reconciliation between them.

    It was, however, gathered that true and sincere reconciliation started on Thursday. Again, President Tinubu reportedly brokered it. Fubara was said to have for the first time met with Amaewhule and other members of the House of Assembly. Sources said the meeting was fruitful.  It was learnt that the governor apologized profusely to the lawmakers and promised that henceforth he would not repeat his earlier mistakes. He held the hand of Amaewhule as they shared jokes and laughter.

    Sources said there were marathon meetings. Fubara was said to have also met with the enlarged political family of Wike including Rivers State National Assembly caucus. The three wise men, OCJ Okocha, SAN, Chief Ferdinand Alabrara and King Sergeant Awuse were said to have attended the meeting, where another accord was reached on how to keep Rivers peace. After the meeting, Wike and Fubara met with President Tinubu to inform him that they had agreed to work together.

    Emerging from the reconciliation meeting, Fubara declared that peace was back to Rivers. He agreed that a resolution was reached describing the agreement as a divine intervention and promised to do everything within his power to sustain the peace achieved.

    He said: “For me, it’s a day we have to thank Almighty God. What we need for the progress of Rivers State is peace and by the special grace of God this night, with the help of Mr President and the agreement of the leaders of the state, our leader, peace has returned in Rivers State. We’ll do everything within our power to make sure that we sustain it this time around”.

    Wike also echoed th same sentiment. He said: “We have all agreed to work together with the governor, and the governor also agreed to work together with all of us. We are members of the same political family.

    “Yes, just like humans, you have a disagreement, and then you also have a time to settle your disagreement. That has been finally concluded today. We have come to report to Mr. President that this is what we have agreed. So, for me, everything is over. I enjoin everybody who believes to work with us, to also work together with everybody. There’s no more acrimony. There’s nothing to say.”

    Some stakeholders appealed to Fubara to stick to the new agreement and honour its provisions. They asked him to resist the temptation of listening to those, who stampeded him into abandoning the first peace accord that contained eight-point agenda.

    A former Labour Party Candidate in Bayelsa State, Udengs Eradiri, hailed Fubara for submitting to a real reconciliation process. Eradiri, a former President, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, urged Fubara to close his doors from those hangers-on, who made him thrash the first peace pact.

    He said: “This is a good beginning for Rivers. I have always advocated that Fubara must follow the process of genuine and sincere reconciliation and what transpired on Thursday was that process.

    “But I warning again that Fubara must abandon those, who led him into many avoidable mistakes that deepen the crisis in Rivers. He must stay away from them. I commend President Tinubu, who has shown his mastery of conflict management in Rivers issue and undiluted fatherly love to Wike and Fubara.

    “The President by his interventions has shown that he wants peace and not bloodshed in Rivers. I commend Wike for having a large heart to forgive his political son and I urge him to keep leading alright.”

    In fact, many stakeholders are praying that the new accord that has promised to allow  rivers of peace flow into Rivers State should never again go the way of KO Mbadiwe’s accord concordia like the first eight point peace accord.

  • Wike, Fubara feud ‘beyond reconciliation’, says Fayose

    Wike, Fubara feud ‘beyond reconciliation’, says Fayose

    Former Ekiti governor, Ayodele Fayose, has declared that the ongoing feud between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyesom Wike and the governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has escalated beyond reconciliation.

    Speaking during an interview on Channels TV, Fayose described the situation as “very unfortunate”.

    The ex-governor said his earlier advice to Fubara to “avoid Wike’s trouble” was in good faith.

    He had offered this counsel shortly after Fubara’s electoral victory.

    Reflecting on the deepening conflict, Fayose said: “The crisis has crossed the Rubicon. The matter has gone too far.

    Read Also: Delta APC chieftain Emetitiri tackles Fubara, loyalists over Wike

    “Even if you want to resolve it, how do you restore the trust? I believe it’s too late for reconciliation.”

    Speaking on Atiku, Fayose said Atiku, a former vice president, should end his presidential ambition due to his advanced age.

    According to Fayose, “I am sure, at this stage, with all due respect to him, he (Atiku) would rather want to step away from the politics of contesting elections again.

    “By the time Asiwaju finishes his term, Atiku Abubakar will probably be 80 or 81. So, what will be the attraction?

    “We should leave the stage when the ovation is loudest. I respect him, and I think Nigerians are craving for a younger generation now more than ever before.

    “So, on what basis will Atiku come and contest again?”

  • Clash of umbrella, elephant, broom in Rivers confusing political identity

    Clash of umbrella, elephant, broom in Rivers confusing political identity

    The political environment in Rivers State was once stable. Throughout the reign of former Governor Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Rivers had a defined political colour.

    The state was mainly divided into two political groups, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). While the PDP dominated the government at all levels, the APC grappled with the prolonged internal crisis caused by the egotistical grandstanding of some key leaders.

    At least, then Rivers was referred to as a PDP state, and rightly so because since the rebirth of democracy in 1999, the oil-rich state has been governed by the PDP with other political parties making little or no impact. The political grandmaster, Dr. Peter Odili, who held the state together from 1999 to 2007 was a product of the PDP.

    His successor and former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi was produced from the same political platform from 2007 to 2015. He only jumped ship to the APC towards the end of his administration and created some political storm in the state. 

    But Wike was one of the strongest governors produced by the PDP from 2015 till 2023. The former governor ensured that the PDP was in control of Rivers. In all the Presidential elections held before 2023 during his tenure as a governor, the ruling APC could not score the constitutionally required 25 per cent votes despite having Amaechi as the leader of the APC.

    Rivers was an example of a unified political colour. The political family was united and PDP, the umbrella, was the only acceptable logo.

    Read Also: It is time for a marshall plan for Northern Nigeria

    But now Rivers wears a confusing political rainbow. There is no unified colour and the logos of the elephant, umbrella, and broom are clashing making the environment fluid and unstable. The once-united PDP political family has collapsed into different undefined structures.

    The Genesis

    Public analysts refer to the build up to the 2023 Presidential election as the beginning of the political confusion in the state. The state PDP under former governor Wike fell apart with the party’s leadership at the national level. The choice of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the election fueled the crisis. 

    Wike, having lost out of the race for the presidential ticket of the PDP and betrayed in the power play to produce Atiku’s running mate, demanded the fulfilment of the promise made by the former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu. The former chairman was said to have agreed that he would step down and yield his position to the South if, after the Presidential primaries, a northerner emerged as the party’s candidate.

    His refusal to bow out of office after the emergence of Atiku infuriated some party bigwigs including Wike. The former Rivers governor, who commanded political influence and material affluence decided that in the interest of equity, justice and integrity, no northerner should aspire to become the President after the eight-year reign of another northerner, Muhammadu Buhari.

    Wike, who formed the G-5 comprising former governors of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Abia, Ikpeazu; Oyo, Seyi Makinde; Benue, Samuel Ortom and himself as well as other notable PDP leaders across the country nursed a different party orientation ahead of the presidential election and campaigned against Atiku.

    Wike was vocal in his rejection of Atiku’s candidacy. Rivers was the capital of the anti-Atiku campaign. Out of the frontline presidential candidates, the former governor held marathon meetings with the PDP stakeholders in the state and they unanimously agreed to support and work for the victory of the APC presidential candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Therefore, the full structures of the PDP and a faction of the APC all coordinated by Wike teamed up for the first time defying their party leanings and orientations to work for the emergence of Tinubu. But while they voted for Tinubu, they voted for PDP candidates in other elections in the state. It was a political jigsaw, a risky political chess game, which Wike gambled with but later succeeded.

    The former governor singlehandedly developed the strategies that gave the APC Tinubu victory ensuring that his party’s presidential candidate for the first time since he resigned as a governor did not get up to the required 25 percent votes. But all his other candidates in the PDP won across the state from the governorship to the National Assembly.

    Incidentally, the same party merger occurred in the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi-led APC structures in the state. Amaechi, an erstwhile governor and former Transport Minister, reportedly directed his supporters in the APC to vote for Atiku for President and Chief Tonye Cole, his political son, for governor. He, however, lost out because the Wike’s force overwhelmed him.

    In fact, Wike after his resounding victory and rare courage to dare his national PDP leadership began to seriously hobnob with the APC leaders across the country. He won the confidence of President Tinubu and became a force to reckon with in his administration. The Rivers henchman became the Minister of the FCT and has been the brains behind the appointments of Rivers people across party lines in Tinubu’s administration.

    Apart from being the PDP strongman, Wike oversees the faction of the APC led by Chief Tony Okocha, who is the caretaker committee chairman of the party in the state. Most notable APC leaders in Rivers rally around him including the Southsouth leadership structure of the party. They all refer to him as their leader and follow him to events.

    In March during the special thanksgiving organized in Rivers by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, Wike said the APC and PDP were united in the state.

    He said: “In Rivers you have seen APC and PDP. We want our state to be united. We want our state to see what we can get from the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Our support for him, he has been reciprocating by giving us federal positions. We will continue to support and he will continue to find us something”.

    Wike-Fubara rift

    The ongoing political rift between Wike and his estranged political godson, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has further created a political party identity crisis. Wike has tactically maintained his stronghold on all PDP structures in the state leaving Fubara and his supporters, who are mainly members of the PDP to operate without structures. 

    Fubara was so frustrated that he once lamented that the PDP had failed them adding that they were no longer a party but a movement in the state. Despite the visit of the PDP Board of Trustees members led by Senator Adolphus Wabara and all promises made to the governor, Wike and his loyalists continue to hold tenaciously to the PDP structures. Wike’s camp took advantage of the congresses to cement their ownership of the PDP.

    The PDP state congress

    For the first time in a long while, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat located along the popular Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, came alive recently.

    The atmosphere was electrifying as hundreds of party faithful and delegates converged on the facility to elect members of the Rivers State, PDP Working Committee (SWC).

    It was a grand finale of the state’s PDP congresses, which started with the ward congress on July 27th and that of the local government on August 11th.

    However, the state congress was the largest of the three events. PDP leaders elected as delegates and their foot soldiers from the 23 local government areas of the state were in attendance.

    Decked in uniform made of mix-coloured fabric, the party leaders cast their votes for members of the new SWC that will pilot the affairs of the party in the next four years.

    Wike, was the cynosure of all eyes. His entry into the facility was triumphant as the delegates received him with aplomb. He is the political apple of their eyes.

    Though the event was peaceful, it emphasised the deepening political crisis rocking the state and the irreparable chasm between two camps in a once united and thriving political family.

    While Wike and his loyalists partook in the crucial exercise,  Fubara and his supporters were conspicuously absent. It was indeed a day to realise that the political differences, which snowballed into crisis and started like a joke in October 2023, have wrecked relationships and created unimaginable enmity.

    Why was Fubara and his team absent from the event, which handed over a fresh party structure to Wike and his camp?

    In fact, Fubara and his camp had never participated in any of the congresses. On July 16, Fubara’s camp approached the state High Court sitting in Port Harcourt and obtained an order restraining the party from conducting the congresses. The court issued the order in a suit filed by 11 applicants against the PDP, the National Chairman of the PDP, the party’s Financial Secretary, and the Organising Secretary.

    The Presiding Judge, Justice Sobere Biambo, issued an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants from carrying out the PDP congress on July 27th or any other day or location rescheduled for the event.

    The court also stopped the PDP from holding the Congress in Rivers on any day at all pending the determination of the suit.

    The court further stopped the PDP from taking any decision or giving any directive to further extend the already expired tenure of the ward, local government and state executive officers of the party.

    Fubara and his camp boycotted all the congresses following the court order. But why did the NWC of the PDP go ahead with the congresses despite the order?

     The camp of Wike on July 23 obtained a counter order from the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja mandating the PDP to go ahead with the congresses.

    Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja,  restrained the Department of State Service (DSS), police, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and seven others from stopping or disrupting the conduct of congresses forwards and local governments of the PDP in the state.

    The ex-parte application was filed by six members of the PDP in the state. Justice Lifu ordered the PDP, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Iliya Damagum; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu and National Organizing Secretary, Umar Bature, to proceed with the conduct of the congresses as scheduled by PDP.

    In a state already enmeshed in legal conundrum, the two camps chose the court orders to obey. Wike’s camp relied on Justice Lifu’s pronouncement to massively partake in the congresses and took over all the structures of the PDP in the state. Fubara and his camp embraced Justice Biambo’s directive and stayed away from all the events thereby risking being axed from the PDP.

    Indeed, the event showed that the central leadership of the PDP is in limbo. The party has failed woefully to unite the warring camps in Rivers. Various arms of the party seem to have taken sides in the crisis. Some have continued to make fake promises to the governor.

    Recently, Senator Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) was in Port Harcourt and held a meeting with the governor and key members of his political camp.

    They said they were on a fact-finding mission and promised to visit the rival camp insisting that “there is always two sides to a coin.”

    Wabara said they visited as the conscience of the party in search of peace and unity following what he described as the ungodly tension in recent times that had threatened the PDP in Rivers. Wabara, a former Senate President, said the PDP was scared of losing Rivers State and vowed that the BoT would seek constitutional resolution to the crisis.

    But the BoT’s visit and their assurances seem to have ended in politics. Wike first rubbished their mission as a nullity. There was no intervention of Wabara and his team to compel postponement of the state Congress to allow for the resolutions of the crisis in the state.

    Few days after the BoT’s visit, the the PDP’s Governors’ Forum held its meeting in Bauchi State and brought Fubara’s dilemma to the front burner for discussion.

    The governors restated their support for Fubara.

    The governors assured their readiness to engage the NWC of the party to revisit the congresses and insisted that Fubara must be allowed to take his rightful leadership position of the party in the state.

    Like the toothless bulldog, the PDP governors failed to fulfill their promises to their colleagues. They were unable to help Fubara. The Local Government Congress was neither revisited nor canceled. Amidst the revisiting promise, the NWC sent a delegation to conduct the state congress, which settled the question of PDP leadership in Rivers.

    Wike seized the opportunity of the state Congress to send a stern warning to the PDP’s Governors’ Forum. He told the governors to steer clear of the PDP structure in the state.

    The former governor, whose speech was intermittently interrupted with applauses and solidarity chants by the crowd of delegates and other party members, vowed to ignite political crisis in states of governors dabbling in Rivers PDP affairs.

    While issuing the stern warning, Wike assured his camp in the Rivers PDP that nobody would take away the party structures from them.

    Apparently referring to the Bauchi State Governor, Wike said he would not give a damn insisting that any governor trying to hand over the structures of the PDP to Fubara would not sleep well in his state.

    He said: “Let me assure all of you that not while we live, anybody will take away the structure of PDP from us. Let me tell people, I hear that there are some governors, who said they would take away the structure and give it to somebody.

    “I pity those governors because I will put fire in their state. When God has given you peace, you say you don’t want peace, then whatever you see you take. I don’t understand. I don’t understand simply because I heard they got some money and their heads are getting big that you put hand in my own state.

    “Prepare because I have the capacity to also do the same thing in your own state. Whether you are from Bauchi I don’t give a damn. Whichever state you come from, as far as I know that you are trying to put your hands in Rivers State, your hand will get burnt and you will never sleep in your state.

    “You will never do governorship again, you will see a political crisis as far as PDP is concerned. I have told them while you have started, when I start, don’t say I am the one that destroyed PDP. Allow Rivers State to conduct the affairs of the party.”

    The FCT Minister said they had done their part by electing a governor but that they had resolved to move forward since Fubara said they were no longer part of his plans.

    Wike encouraged the PDP loyalists to liken their rejection and maltreatment by the governor as a bad business insisting that not everybody business would yield the desired profit.

    He said they remained the party members and that they had taken over the affairs of their party praying that God would help them repeat the 2023 victory in 2027.  The FCT Minister has clarified the hullabaloo generated by his warning that he would put fire in the state of any PDP governor, who tried to meddle with Rivers PDP affairs. His camp has also gone to court to secure an injunction debarring anybody from tampering with the current structures of PDP in Rivers.

    Observers believe that the entire organs of the national PDP have failed Fubara and his team. They opined that the governor and his loyalists should have summoned the courage to participate in the congresses and attempt to divide the various leadership of the party in the state.

    Instead of obtaining a court order, which may not invalidate the congresses, they should have created factions in the state and initiated endless court processes.

    By all indications, Fubara has lost out of the battle to control the PDP in Rivers State. As the governor earlier said, the PDP has failed him and his people. The governor seems to have started reviewing his status in the party. His rumoured defection to the All Peoples Party (APP) to chart a new political journey for himself and his team seems to have regained traction.

    Undoubtedly, APP has been thrown into the mix to further confuse the political identity of Rivers. The unfolding events show that the little known APP with its logo, the elephant, is the coveted political destination of Fubara and his camp.

    The Rivers Local Government Election and PDP’s boycott

    While Wike is carrying the PDP and a faction of the APC, Fubara has been left to shop for another political identity. Despite still being a member of the PDP, Fubara has no control of any PDP structures in the state. Though the governor scheduled October 5 for controversial governorship elections, he could not use the structures to prepare for the elections.

    Without mincing words, while Fubara is still in PDP, his political family has chosen the APP to contest the October 5th local government elections. They were said to have unofficially defected to the APP to enable them to contest the poll.

    Governor’s loyalists and social media aides are promoting the activities of the APP making the little-known party to gain popularity within the state. The camp published the final list of the chosen chairmanship and councillorship candidates under the APP. Most of the local government caretaker committees’ chairmen emerged as chairmanship candidates.

    Known Fubara’s loyalists, who emerged as chairmanship candidates of the APP are Abua/Odua, Vincent Reuben Obu; Ahoada-East, Chibudom Ezu; Ahoada-West, Mr. Iyekor Ikporo;  Akuku-Toru,  Mrs. Tonye Oniyide; Emohua, David Omereji; Obio/Akpor, Amb. Chijioke Ihunwo; Omuma, Promise Reginald; Opobo/Nkoro, Enyiada Cookey-Gam; Port Harcourt, Ezebunwo Ichemati, among others.

    The APP Secretariat located at the new GRA in Port Harcourt has become a beehive of political activities as Fubara’s supporters are trooping in and out of the building.

    The state Chairman of APP, Sunny Wokekoro,  handed over the flag of the party to Fubara’s local government chairmanship candidates vowing that his party would cripple the structures of the PDP and other parties in the state.

    Wokekoro said the nation would take the party seriously after the local council elections and the state 2027 poll describing the APP as a veritable destination for everybody in Rivers.

    The Chairman said that the candidates were carefully selected based on their track record of leadership and capacity assuring that they would deliver the dividends of grassroots leadership.

    He said: “By the time we are done with the local council election, everybody from local, state, and national will take APP seriously. This will be made possible because the people are behind the APP. God is on our side, to use us as a tool to liberate Rivers State”.

    Fubara’s loyalists and APP’s candidates had since launched their electioneering campaigns in all the senatorial Districts of the state. They are all over the place parading the insignia of the APP; wearing the party’s outfit and dancing the popular Igbo elephant’ songs. 

    Their campaigns were first inaugurated at the Rivers South-East Senatorial District comprising seven local government areas of Andoni, Oyigbo, Opobo Nkoro, Eleme, Tai, Khana and Gokana. The APP gathered party faithful, residents and loyalists of the governor to kick off its campaign in Bori.

    A party loyalist, who attended the event said: “The event drew an unprecedented crowd, reflecting the community’s eagerness for change and good governance.

    “For many, this moment has been long anticipated, symbolizing hope for a brighter future. Residents gathered in large numbers, united by their desire for effective leadership and meaningful progress.

    “The atmosphere was charged with enthusiasm as local leaders and party officials outlined their vision for the district, promising transparency, development, and engagement with the people.

    “As the APP sets the stage for its campaign, the turnout marks the urgent need for responsive governance and the collective aspiration for a better tomorrow in Rivers State.

    “This epoch-making event marks not just the beginning of a campaign, but also a renewed commitment to addressing the pressing needs of the community down to the grassroots.”

    The PDP officially announced its decision to boycott the October 5 local government election in the state. The state Chairman of the party, Aaron Chukwuemeka, who spoke at the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt, said the party was waiting for the court verdict on the election in the case instituted by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Chukwuemeka urged members of the party to stay away from any activities connected with the election.

    He said: “As a law-abiding party in the state, we will not be part of the purported local government election that they have slated on 5th October. That is the resolution of the party. All the stakeholders met and we resolved that we won’t be part of that election.

    “The reason is that a few months ago there was a suit instituted by the APC. We are not part of the suit but as a law-abiding party, we heard that an order was issued by the court restraining INEC from releasing voters register to RISIEC.

    “What elections are we going to have when the voter register is not released to RISIEC and security agencies are not going to be part of the election?

    “Based on that the party said we would not be part of it because we believe in the rule of law. All the major stakeholders of our party were in the meeting when we took the resolution. It was a collective decision of our party”.

    Undoubtedly, Rivers has an undefined political party identity. The state governor has not officially resigned from the PDP, but for political survival, his loyalists, who were once members of the PDP, are currently in APP contesting the local government elections. The state government is a mixture of the elephant, the PDP’s logo and umbrella, and the PDP’s identity.

    On the other hand, Wike is a PDP strongman. Most of his loyalists are in PDP controlling the party’s structures in the state. But the former governor controls a significant faction of the APC and has a strong political alliance with notable APC leaders in the state.

    For Amaechi, though he has been quiet, his loyalists and a faction he controls, are hobnobbing with Fubara in the PDP. But some analysts believed that the recent uncommon political formations are not sustainable and will collapse in due time. They opined that if Fubara succeeds with his political experiment in the APP, he will surely depart for the APP while disagreements ahead of the 2027 governorship election can break Wike’s hold in PDP and APC.

  • Wike to PDP govs backing Fubara: I’m bigger than you

    Wike to PDP govs backing Fubara: I’m bigger than you

    • Says detractors put together can’t withstand him

    • Mocks Fubara’s camp for choosing APP

    • We’re sorry for gov’s misdeeds, say Rivers Ijaw

    • Fintiri: I’ll continue to associate with Wike

    The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday aimed a fresh jibe at his detractors over the festering Rivers State crisis, declaring that they were no match for him.

    Wike, who stormed Amadi-Ama, Abuloma, Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State for a reception organised in his honour by the Ijaw Peoples Congress (IPC), said all the threats to stop him from controlling the party’s structure in the state had come to naught.

    “Let nobody threaten anybody. All those threats are empty. I said nobody would take the structure of the party.

    “I said nobody would take over the structure of the party. You can have all the money; if it didn’t dey, it didn’t dey,” he said in apparent response to the clamour by the PDP Governors Forum for the party leadership to hand over the party’s structures to Governor Siminilayi Fubara, Wike’s successor.

    The governors had in an August 23, 2024 communiqué, taken sides with Fubara in his struggle for the soul of the PDP in the state with Wike, and asked the PDP leadership to allow Fubara control the party machinery in the state over and above the FCT Minister.

    The communique immediately pitted Wike against the governors as he threatened to “put fire” in the state of any of the governors making things difficult for him in Rivers.

    The national leadership of the party has since recognised the congresses conducted by the Wike faction of the PDP to the annoyance of Fubara.

    Subsequently, the governor directed his supporters to contest the LG election on the platform of the All Peoples Party (APP).

    The FCT minister mocked Fubara yesterday for the APP choice, wondering how and when the state degenerated to the level of adopting APP.

    Wike was accompanied to yesterday’s reception by his allies in the PDP, notably the G5 members: Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and ex-governors Sam Ortom of Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.

    Read Also: It is time for a marshall plan for Northern Nigeria

    But it was the presence of Adamawa Governor Adamu Fintiri that sent tongues wagging.

    Fintiri is a political godson of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who fell out with Wike over the PDP presidential ticket in the 2023 election.

    Fintiri said yesterday that he would continue to associate with Wike.

    This came a few days after the governor of Atiku’s home state pledged his support for the acting national chairman of the party, Umar Damagum.

    Atiku and his supporters are opposed to Damagum’s continued stay in office, suspecting him of working for Wike.  

    Reviewing the events in the Rivers State chapter of the PDP yesterday, Wike said: “All those who are moving around saying they are supporting somebody… you know it is not correct. You know some people don’t have shame. I cannot serve your boy.

     “Now, they are not even waiting, they are even rushing after the boy. They are not even waiting for the boy to call them. They are now rushing to the boy. People don’t have integrity.

    “Don’t ever think that they’re fighting me. They are not fighting me. I am too big. If you don’t recognise somebody bigger than you, you know you are sick. I’m far bigger— all of them put together. They cannot stand it.

    “When people said they will put hand here (in Rivers), I told them if you come here and put your hand, hand too will enter your place (state). Now they are crying.”

    “Imagine in Rivers they are contemplating APP. It is not about money. Money does not move. You can have all the money but if there is no capacity there is no capacity.

    “All the things you see are people envious of our growth. We have defeated them severally, and if opportunity comes again, we will defeat them

    “We have not started politics. When the time comes, we will play politics. Our job is politics. Tell them to keep their party ready. We will teach them what is called politics.”

    Wike then turned to the state legislators of Ijaw extraction to join him on the dais.

    He said out of 12 of them from that part of the state,10 were supporting Speaker Martins Amaewhule and were opposed to what he called abuse of the constitution and non-performance of Governor Fubara.

    Wike said it is not true that the Ijaw people were against him.

     He said: “Many people go and speak on TV as if they are representing Ijaw. Ten Ijaw lawmakers out of 12 are saying that the governor has done infractions of the Constitution.

    “These are people representing Ijaw in the State Assembly and they are saying that he is not doing well. If anybody tells you that Ijaw people are fighting me, it is not true. It is just a few ungrateful Ijaw people.

    “If a father has 12 children and one is an armed robber, does it mean all of them are armed robbers?”

    Wike said the crisis in Rivers has only provided an opportunity for some people to enrich themselves

    “There is a big market and some people are rushing to the market. Soon, they will come back and say there is nothing good in the market. I have friends in Ijaw and they haven’t betrayed me,” he said.

    Continuing, Wike said:”Somebody was talking about Ijaw governor, and I told the person you are from Delta, make an Ijaw person governor in Delta.

    “I have made an Ijaw man governor of Rivers State. Who loves Ijaw more? Is it people who appear on TV?

    “If they were that strong, since after the old Rivers State, has an Ijaw man become governor? Where were they? I am an Ikwerre man, but I sat down and said for political conviviality and unity let’s go this way.

    “They said why should I bring an Opobo man; that Opobo is not real Ijaw. Now food is ready and Opobo has become real Ijaw. This is leadership of the stomach.”

    Shedding light on how Fubara became governor, he said:”When in 2023 people were hiding their faces, I said we would support equity, fairness and justice. How does anybody think we will hide to do something? Where is the person’s address?”

    Wike said persons, who initially told him that they would not serve him the master and then serve the servant, are now all over the place seeking relevance.

    He said: “They are not fighting me. I am too big. If you don’t recognise someone bigger than you, know you are sick. I am far bigger, and all of them put together, they can’t withstand it.”

    In a reference to the recent Edo State governorship election, Wike wondered why people who were supposedly faced with examination chose to be concerned about Rivers State PDP structures.

    He said: “You have exam, and instead of you to concentrate on the exam, you are going to do protest. Now you have failed and you said your teacher failed you.

     “When people said they will put hand here (in Rivers). I told them: if you come here and put your hand, hand too will enter your place (state). Now they are crying.

    “Instead of them (PDP governors) concentrating on how they would win election in their state, they were holding meetings elsewhere to discuss Rivers State.

     “Who is the loser? This is a warning to others. Don’t touch Rivers State. It is a special state to God.”

    Wike said his rivals have not won any of the cases instituted against members of the state House of Assembly because they are not organised.

    He alleged that his detractors sent some thugs with dynamites to attack the venue of yesterday’s event but were caught by the police.

    Wike said his supporters would hear about his next move through their leaders, adding they would continue to support the administration of President Tinubu

    He said: “Every matter they have instituted against you, have they won any? They are the ones that go to court; they are the ones that keep losing. When people are not organised, they can’t get a good result.

    “We are very organised. When you see our legal team, you know we have a legal team. Don’t be afraid. Having God on our side, we would continue to be victorious. We believe in the unity of this state.

    “They sent some boys with dynamites to come and dynamite here but the police arrested them. This one is now known. Let me see how they would hide it. Where the Minister of FCT and governors are coming they sent boys to dynamite here. Let me see how they release them.

    “The fact is that we chose to be law-abiding. We will continue to support the administration of President Tinubu. I can come home any time because I stand tall to challenge anybody.

    “The Ring road was done by me. I initiated them thinking that we would work together. They are now bragging they are the ones. I have gone to Abuja to repeat what I did in the state. Go and see the testimony.

    “At the appropriate time, our leaders will come and I will tell you the next line of action. I know today they will not sleep.”

    Governor Makinde, a staunch ally of Wike, said jocularly that when he arrived Port Harcourt for the event, he begged Wike not to put fire in Oyo State following his threat.

     “When I showed up yesterday, I told him I brought peace offering because he has been boasting that he will put fire in some states. I said please, don’t put fire in Oyo State,” he said.

    Speaking through the Director, Finance, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Boma Iyaye, Rivers Ijaw apologised to Wike for the alleged misdeeds of Fubara, and begged him not to judge the Ijaw with the behaviour of one person.

    He said: “I want to apologise to you for what our son is doing to you. We are sorry. It is not in our nature to pay good with evil. Don’t because of this bad behavior run away from us.

    “Continue to be our brother. It is not because we fail exam we won’t repeat it again. We are not an ungrateful people. That is why we are celebrating you”.

    In his goodwill message, the Managing Director, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said he was a direct beneficiary of Wike’s benevolence.

    “I am a direct beneficiary of your goodwill. We thank you for what you have done for Ijaw people. You are instrumental for me being the MD. While we are transiting, you supported me and brought a brother to work with me.

    “The Ijaw have no reason to complain because we now have MD and Director of Finance and Administration. I am standing here to say thank you. You have displayed unalloyed loyalty and support for Mr. President.

    “You supported him to ensure he won his election and that his administration succeeds. I am also committing my support to you. We know you love the Ijaw. I saw the series of appointments and majority are sons and daughters of the Ijaw nation.”

    Minister of State for Petroleum, Lokpobiri, said Wike made his appointment possible, saying the discussions that got him the appointment started at Wike’s home in Port Harcourt and ended at the former governor’s Abuja house.

    He said: “I am proud to be here. My kinsmen from Rivers have identified the strategic help, leadership and partnership between Wike and the Ijaw people. He made my appointment possible. My case was a more direct role.

    “It started in his house in Port Harcourt and was concluded in his house in Abuja. It is important to complete this history. We have a brother and a friend.

    “It is better to have a good friend than to have a bad brother. A bad brother is of no use. But a good brother is a blessing. 

    “Let me on behalf of Ijaw people express our gratitude to you. We will always be grateful to you for what you have done, and we are looking forward to you to do more.

    “We are not known for betraying people. You are not just a leader of Rivers, apart from President Tinubu, I don’t know any other leader that plays the role you play.

    “You are our leader. One of the few national leaders, and we are proud to associate with you.”

    Speaking on behalf of the G5, former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, described Wike as a good man who would never abandon his friends.

    “We appreciate God for Wike and we appreciate Ijaw people for this reception. He is a good man and a good friend and brother. He will not abandon his friend and brother at the time of his needs.

    “We appreciate Mr. President for appointing you the Minister and we appreciate you for not disappointing Mr. President. We pray for you,” he said.

    Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, described the celebration as an honour and a means to build peace in Rivers.

    He said as one of the leaders of the PDP, they would continue to look for ways to reconcile Wike and the governor.

    Fintiri said: “He is a very good man. I thank the Ijaw people for organising this reception in honour of what the leader is doing. It is not easy to recognise someone doing good in this country.

    “This celebration is an honour and a means to build on the peace of Rivers. This honour sends a message that what is happening is temporary. It will send a message to Fubara to come and reconcile with his master.

    “We will continue to work with Wike and the G5. It is not easy for a man to stand tall and build bridges across this country. Wike has built people and made friends all over. He has worked.

    “Most of us are challenged by what we have come to see in Rivers. I picked this challenge from Wike. You have a son that you will continuously celebrate.

    “We will continue as leaders of our party to see that we build a reconciliation between Wike and your governor.”

    About two weeks ago, Wike vowed never to “support Fubara in my political life again.”

    “People laboured to put up a structure. People laboured; you wouldn’t have even taken the 50th position. I sacrificed to talk to the Ogonis; I sacrificed to talk to several other people who let us go this way,” he said.

  • Between Wike and Fubara

    Between Wike and Fubara

    Last Sunday, May 19, the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide while calling for “peace throughout the entire Niger Delta region”, at the end of a one-day peace and security summit, ‘urged the politicians causing political turbulence in Rivers, to sheath their swords’. The following day, Monday May 20, former President Goodluck Jonathan while performing the flag-off of the construction of the multi-billion naira Trans-Kalabari Road project in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State appealed to Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara “to work together for the development of the land and the people of Rivers State”. He then went on to commend Governor Fubara for his “vision and the courage to start the much needed road located within a difficult terrain which he said “is not going to be a tea party”, among other critical elements including airport, rail and water transport systems if (we) must develop a  nation”. 

    It was apparent from Jonathan’s comment that the work of development cannot be accomplished by one administration. This fact was probably lost on Wike who was named Mr. Project by ex-VP Yemi Osinbajo on account of the giant strides he made in infrastructural development in Rivers to have suddenly forgotten that before him was Governor Rotimi Amaechi who attracted those who mattered in Nigeria including the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, to Port Harcourt to commission completed projects.

    But for President Jonathan’s observation, those outside Rivers State would have thought there would be nothing else to commission after 16 year’s rage of commissioning of projects executed by Amaechi and Wike. 

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    We however now know there is still much work of development to be carried out in Rivers. And this is why it is hoped Wike will humble himself by admitting ‘the world is a stage where everyone plays his own part’ instead of trying to hold Rivers and its new governor hostage.

    Ignoring the fact that there is already a new sheriff in town, Wike publicly expressed a desire to control Rivers State PDP political structure he successfully deployed to secure victory for Fubara. I don’t think anyone should begrudge Wike for laying claim to ownership of Rivers political structure. He has demonstrated during different elections that he is the undisputed leader of the riverine grassroot politicians who decide outcomes of every election within dangerous riverine terrains election umpires and observers will do anything to avoid.

    Wike admitted reaching a truce after President Tinubu privately waded into their conflict. The truce was however dismissed by some Rivers elders, led by Rufus Ada-Gorge, a former governor of the state, who claimed that if the peace deal is allowed to succeed it, would amount to President Tinubu unilaterally suspending the Nigerian Constitution which he says portends executive rascality which undermines our constitutional democracy, rule of law and good governance.”

    The elders were joined by some opportunistic youths eyeing the seats vacated by pro-Wike commissioners. They were in solidarity rally at the demolished Rivers State House of Assembly complex which was earlier torched on October 29, 2023, to forestall planned impeachment of the governor, singing “we are not slaves. Some slaves are happy in their chains”.

    Lionized by elders and opportunistic youths, Fubara refused to represent the budget earlier approved by four suspended loyal state lawmakers even after the warring 27 state legislators withdrew their impeachment threat.

    If Wike had been a good student of Nigerian politics, it was at that point he ought to have known the game was up. It was obvious Fubara had borrowed a leaf from Akintola’s playbook of 1962.  Like Akintola ‘taku’ (refused to step down in line with constitutional provision), Fubara dared Wike, saying “I am now in power even if it was by mistake”. That was a subtle threat he was prepared to pull the whole edifice down on their heads.

    Fubara was also a good student of Obaseki. To forestall impeachment by Adams Oshiomhole’s 17 loyal state lawmakers, the Clerk of Edo House of Assembly, Yahaya Omogbai, was said to have ushered seven members in a house of 24 lawmakers-elect into the chamber at midnight and read out the Obaseki’s letter of proclamation with which Honourable Frank Okiye the governor’s anointed candidate for speaker was elected. To seal the fate of the 17 elected majority lawmakers, Obaseki refused to swear them in while the National Assembly was told “it could not compel Obaseki to issue another proclamation within the lifespan of an existing proclamation”.

    Fubara on his part first secured the support of Uche Secondus and other PDP elders Wike had fought to a standstill. He then relied on four suspended members of Rivers State House of Assembly to declare vacant the seats of decamping 27 state lawmakers loyal to Wike.

    It is also obvious, the 1999 constitution created Leviathans out of our governors. Deputy governors or other adversaries will take on our governors only at their own peril.

    Wike had before leaving office publicly declared paying for all projects, a claim Fubara as Wike’s chief accountant did not dispute while being railroaded to become governor. He even admitted: “Originally, our mantra was supposed to be ‘Consolidation and Continuity”. Now in power, he says his administration is bogged down by the debt piled up by Wike. Like Akintola did with disastrous consequences, Fubara has started to talk of probing the administration of his estranged godfather.

     Fubara also now questions the integrity of his godfather. Last week he told reporters that he invited the governor of Abia State to commission his projects because “he is not an artificial integrity man. He is an action integrity man. He is not the one that they will gather because they just want to talk”.

    But before we crucify Fubara, let us first look at ourselves in the mirror. Democracy is a new values system we embraced without the accompanying democratic ethos.  Of this, character, or what Aristotle described as ‘balance between passion and caution of political actors’ is important if democracy, as a majoritarian rule is to be anything other than the tyranny of the majority. For democracy to thrive therefore, political actors must be committed to a set of ideals. Unfortunately for us our political space has been largely populated since independence by men that believe neither in any creed nor any set of ideals.

     The collapse of the first republic started with Akintola’s refusal to obey his party’s constitution and Prime Minister Balewa and President Nnamdi Azikiwe, who in breach of the constitution, served as accomplices while Senate President/Acting President, Nwafor Orizu, once convicted by the colonial powers for fraud against his people, out of ethnic sentiments, ceded power to Aguinyi Ironsi.

    Apart from the late Umaru Yar’Adua, there was no evidence Obasanjo, who embarked on a third term fiasco, and Buhari, who was unable to rein in ethnic irredentists in his government, believe in any set of ideals. And precisely because we often play the ostrich, we expect Fubara to be different from Odili, Amaechi and Wike, predecessors.

    A part of a whole cannot be holier than the whole.

  • Group appeals to Wike, Fubara to uphold Tinubu’s peace terms

    Group appeals to Wike, Fubara to uphold Tinubu’s peace terms

    A group under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Rivers State (CC23) has appealed to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, as well as their supporters, to uphold and abide by the terms of the peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

    The appeal which was contained in a statement made available to reporters in Warri, Delta state, was titled, ‘No Sacrifice Is Too Much For Peace.’

    In the statement which reads in part, CC23 stated, “We urge both parties to conscientiously uphold and abide by the terms of the peace deal.

    “We urge them to leverage Mr. President’s intervention, put aside their differences, and bury the hatchet, to advance the peace, security, progress, and development of our dear Rivers State,” the group pleaded.

    It further urged all political actors, third parties, and interest groups within and outside Rivers State, to stop all narratives capable of impairing the ongoing peace process in the state.

    In the statement signed jointly by Chief Victor Oleh, Hon. Goodluck Braide, Dr. Ken Robinson, Chief Barr. Obo Osaro, Chief Lucky Ekeji (PhD), Comrade Chile Elechi, Hon. Chaka Ezekiel, and Chief Ikashi Awali, Innocent Iroegbu, Mrs. Nancy Bob Manuel, Comrade Chioma Atuzie, Sir Innocent Abiacks, Princess Jane Peters, Hon Silver Onyeche, Prof. Prince Ordu (Diaspora) and Christopher Nwachukwu, commended President Tinubu for his intervention.

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    Besides, they also applauded Fubara and Wike for assenting to the peace initiative which, it noted, is beginning to yield some results.

    “We have carefully appraised the resolutions reached at the mediatory meeting of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, and the Honourable Minister of the FCT and immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Chief Barr. Nyesom Wike, and others; the outcome is a win-win situation; no victor, no vanquished!

    “We salute the nationalistic bearing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his political sagacity, wisdom, and deep-rooted love for the nation, and our democracy. Certainly, Daniel came to judgment!

    “We equally commend the Honorable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, and Governor Siminalayi Fubara for submitting themselves to Mr. President’s mediation.

    “We urge both parties to conscientiously uphold and abide by the terms of the peace deal.

    “We urge them to leverage Mr. President’s intervention, put aside their differences, and bury the hatchet, to advance the peace, security, progress, and development of our dear Rivers State.

    “Gladly, steps indicative of commitment to the process have already been taken by both sides,” parts of the statement read.

    Pleading with all aggrieved stakeholders, the group said Governor Fubara “should be allowed to harmoniously work with the Rivers State House of Assembly and his cabinet, to foster the development of the state, and effectively provide the dividends of democracy to Rivers people.

    “We are conscious of the fact that if the situation precipitates a full-blown crisis, it will be the people of Rivers State who will bear the brunt of the consequences.

    “We, therefore, call on the good people of Rivers State, irrespective of their inclinations, especially, the youths, to shun all actions, assertions, and j that would reignite the settling crisis,” the statement added.

  • Father and son

    Father and son

    The duel between Nyesom Wike and Sim Fubara recalls the episode between Napoleon and a Russian envoy. Master craftsman Leo Tolstoy waxed it into a legend in the most ambitious of all novels, War and Peace. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte dropped a handkerchief in front of the Russian ambassador and expected the envoy to pick it up. In irony, the Russian dropped his own handkerchief beside Napoleon’s and picked his own fabric. The French general stooped, in spite of his fabled swagger of a hat and his imperial majesty, to retrieve his piece of cloth. Fubara thinks his handkerchief is whiter, lacier than Wike’s. But Wike is the haberdasher.

    Fubara is in such a satiric contempt of his former boss and benefactor. In his wry mood, Wike must be wondering why Fubara is in such a wry mood. The drama is unfolding so fast, few have enough time for context. The fight is in several incarnations: between godfather and godson, benefactor and beneficiary, gratitude and disdain, Ijaw versus Wike, FCT versus lawmakers versus executive. In this fight, law has fallen hostage to the sophistry of SANs. Are the defecting assembly men leaping in the dark, or are they lurking to pluck down the governor?

    There may be a failure of definition here. Maybe Fubara was never born as Wike’s son while Wike thought himself a father, an obstetric upheaval, a new oedipal twist. Not like Kwankwaso and Ganduje, Chime and Nnamani, Ibori and Okowa, Akpabio and Emmanuel, Kalu and Orji, et al. Which model is Fubara re-enacting? Psycho-social pundits may classify Fubara’s act. Is it an imitation, adaptation or parody of previous father-son lock-horns? Others have said, it took a year, sometimes three years, before the godson cut off the umbilical cord. Street roar, boardroom brawl, a slap in the face, a menace from hirelings, which?

    Fubara does not fit any model. It is not even Chime versus Nnamani. Before his investiture, Chime had invoked the holy spirit to arrest Enugu State House demons while Nnamani still inhabited the palace. Fubara denies any cord or accord. Fubara model is a parody. If others waited, he had no patience. If Chime threatened, Fubara’s lips were still. Even if it took three months before the blood spill between them, the quarrel must have started three months earlier.

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    Given the gale of resignations, the bulldozer’s rumble, the stealthy coalitions, yaps of protests, we may say Fubara’s is new, a virgin clearing. Even in the perpetual tumult of Rivers State politics, it is a virgin clearing. But each of them is fighting and hurting, and are, in the words of French Poet Baudelaire, “I am the wound and yet the blade.”

    Fubara is denying the Wike DNA. After denying the political bloodline, other links are easy to cut. He can say he is no beneficiary because the people, not Wike, voted him in. His is not disdain because he is now governor and Wike is not. Yes, it is an Ijaw matter because he is the first in the Fourth Republic to mount the chair. Wike gave and he is trying to take it away. This thinking is the making of Fubara’s delusion of grandeur.

    If he has a grudge, there is a right way to be right and a right way to be wrong. His is a wrong way to be right. Even when we are right, we don’t have to be right. That is the life of good breeding and maturity. Fubara lacks it. You don’t blast an edifice costing billions to advertise your piety.

    The issue is that once in power, it is easy to become the power itself. That is the problem with men like Fubara, who played the obsequious buffoon while he followed Wike around during the campaigns. He was bidding his time. That is the cynic at play, the quiet, grasping power monger. He thinks himself a liberator, a revolutionary even. He is the one who is going to bring down the mighty man of valour. He sees himself at once as a hero and rebel, who would, in the words of Albert Camus in The Rebel, “die on one’s feet (rather) than live on one’s knees.”

    What is at stake is not Wike or Fubara, but democracy. At the moment, it is a question of power. Many are saying Fubara is currying the Rivers street by playing the underdog. No one really knows the story. Some say it is money, but no evidence. Wike has denied it. Some say it is control of the state, but Wike says it is about the integrity of his political family. But Fubara has kept mum, and the Rivers street is apt to clutch at the commonplace narrative: that it is a bully hectoring a puppet. The absence of a good open brawl, with Wike jabbering and Fubara swiping back, has left the whole drama a fight without blows. The only idea next to democracy is Wike’s assertion that Fubara is dining with the enemy. In politics that is crime number one. Charles De Gaulle’s close friend and topflight novelist, Andre Malraux once wrote: “If you abandon a certain number of deputies or if they abandon you, that is an incident. If you abandon an idea, that is not an incident, it is a suicide.”

    So, what is Fubara’s idea if not suicide, for he has abandoned the family that enthroned him. Perhaps hence the APC executive was dissolved, and the lawmakers who defected can now take their place in the new party. It is a realignment of forces. Fubara is giving shelter to malcontents, shelter of a leaky roof.

    Some lawyers have said there is no crisis at the national level. They probably forgot that it is because he fought Atiku in the centre that the party in Rivers State was cut into two, with persons like Secondus and Atiku’s cronies on the other side. Major PDP players including governors in the party split the party. Fubara is a product of that maelstrom and Wike is in the centre of it. Let us be wary and let the court takes its course.

    He has probably seen the end, and he may be eyeing the deep end. Illusion is a companion of power. He may see a bad end and may be heading inexorably towards it, like Oedipus. He may think himself a sort of Prometheus who brandishes a revolutionary torch. In his play on Prometheus, Aeschylus quotes him as saying, “No misfortune can fall upon me that I myself have not foreseen.”

    Big events took place of late. One is the continuing raft of resignations. The second is the pulling down of the house legislature. The third is to sign a budget with four lawmakers. The four lawmakers’ scenario is a spillover from the Obj years of impunity. Obj amassed a few men to impeach governors. Fubara used it to commit a governor’s impeachable offence with the budget. He gives the impression of chaos. Fubara believes he is levitating himself as a man of destiny, out on a sacred mission. We saw that in the way he pulled down the house. He thinks he is pulling down a stronghold. But it may show he has no strong hold on power. He is probably thinking like the irreverent philosopher Nietzsche who wrote, “To raise a new sanctuary, a sanctuary must be destroyed. That is the law.” So, with all the trouble going on, he sees his act as what the sawdust Caesar of Italy, Benito Mussolini proclaimed, “the holy religion of anarchy.”  It consumed him. Fubara should not see himself in the mould of Napoleon, who crowned himself and wife Josephine in Rome. He then declared, “God gave me this crown. Let anyone who touches it beware.” He lost it all at Waterloo. His head defiled crown and could not hold it.

    Reno Omokri tweeted that the crisis in Rivers State contrasts that of Ondo State as mirror of cultural differences. He may be right if we take away the Wetie and Agbekoya affairs. But the southwest state has handled it with tact while the Rivers State has been a quicksand.

    The Rivers State crisis also reminds us that political turmoil sometimes does not involve the masses. They look on and take sides. While the streets yelp, the solution lies with democracy’s puppeteers, in the halls of courts and the intrigues of big men. It is a feline hour, and the schemes of men and cat often rhyme. That is what is unfolding.

    So, Fubara should be wary of stacking up impeachable offences. Or else, the bringing down of the house may begin the obsequies of his reign.