By Lateef Adegbite
The Face-off between Siminalayi Fubara the incumbent governor of Rivers state and who incidentally was a former Accountant General of the state during the Administration of Nyensom Wike, now minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, under Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration, appears to have taken a turn for the worse.
Gov. Fubara, putting on the garb of an Army General and who may have been pushed to the wall by his perceived enemy and erstwhile godfather, Wike, who was said to have created the impression that he was powerless may have sent a message to the FCT, minister that he is ready’’ to bark and bite’’ this time around.
The recent action taken by the governor to clip the wings of Martin Amaewule, led state House of Assembly, dominated by former governor Wike, loyalists, speaks volume. The embattled Rivers state governor who appears to have taken the bull by the horn to monitor the activities of the Lawmakers was said to have ordered ‘’the immediate temporary relocation of the sitting of the house members to the Auditorium, Administration block of the Government House, in Port Harcourt, the state Capital.
The Rivers state governor who is no longer ready to make peace with the state Lawmakers who had vetoed him and enacted an amendment to the state Local Government amendment Law, No 5, of 2023 and No.4,` of 2024, and passed it into a unified Law, had said that ‘’the decision to relocate the sitting of the State House of Assembly Lawmakers to the Government House, the state Seat of Power, was because ‘’the Assembly complex in its present state is unsafe and constitutes a threat to the lives of staff and the Lawmakers’’.
The governor, who could not hide his feelings was said to have made it clear to those that cares to listen that until ‘’ the ongoing repairs, renovation, and reconstruction of the burnt and damaged chambers by fire on October 29, 2023, was completed, ‘’the business and proceedings of the State House will be conducted at the Auditorium of the Government House, to ensure that it will not be impeded or frustrated by any unknown person.
Aware that the Lawmakers may want to fight back to ensure their independence from the Fubara led Executive arm of government may have informed why the governor has taken advantage of the robust relationship with the state Police Command to seek the intervention of Olatunji Disu, the Commissioner of Police to send his officers to take over the state House Assembly premises to avoid a breakdown of Law and Order.
It was not surprising why four patrol vehicles of heavily armed policemen had been posted to the Rivers House of Assembly complex to forestall breakdown of Law and order. The Rivers state Commissioner of police may have alluded to this when he stated that officers from his Command have taken over the Rivers state House of Assembly quarters amid ‘’the ongoing Leadership tussle in the Assembly to prevent any breach of Law and order’’.
Informed sources told The Value News that there had been an ongoing battle for supremacy between the loyalists of Wike, the FCT , minister, who still wants to produce the Speaker, and other House , Leaders to prepare the ground for impeachment tof Governor Fubara , who currently has the backing of Peter Odili, a former governor of the state, Abiye Sekibo, a –one time minister of Transportation , during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration, and other ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chieftains in the state.
The Opobo/ Nkoro, born politician, who may have woken up from slumber, will want the Lawmakers loyal to him in the House to produce the Hose entire Leadership to ensure a good working relation between the two arms of government.
The Rivers state High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt, may have dampened the enthusiasm of the Wike’s loyalists in the state Hose of Assembly to carry out their of p plan of impeaching of Gov. Fubara, as it was said to have granted an interim injunction other aggrieved Assembly members ‘’restraining the 24 pro-Wike Lawmakers from parading themselves as Legislators’’. The Court directive was said to have prohibited the pro-Wike Lawmakers from convening or participating in any official meetings that may be called by the Speaker, Amaewhule, a staunch support of the FCT, minister, under any guise at the Assembly Complex Complex.
The plot by Governor Fubara and his loyalists in the state House to produce Victor Oko Jumbo, as the next Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly which may challenge Wike’s total control of the Legislative arm of Government, may have informed why the minister had ‘’conceded that he made a mistake to have supported Fubara, when other leading PDP, Chieftains in the state had turned their back on him to become the party gubernatorial Candidate in the March. 2023, governorship election, which he had won, to succeed him.
Eventhe embattled Rivers state governor had repeatedly said that he appreciated Wike for supporting him to become the governor of Rivers state but would not ‘’worship him to remain in office’’. The FCT, minister who would not take it, had insisted that his successor, Gov. Fubara ought to be grateful to him who had supported him to attain the enviable height of becoming the governor of Rivers state ‘’rather than showing ingratitude’’. The message was very clear that Gov, Fubara, who may be seeking a return to office for a second term should not expect to get his backing in 2027.
Edison Ehie, Chief of Staff, to Gov. Fubara, may have revealed the real reason behind ‘’the frosty relationship between the curren Rivers state governor and the FCT, minister to the fact that his principal had refused to bow to pressure that ‘’a few political Leaders should have the exclusive control of sharing the resources of the state’, which runs into billions of naira monthly.
The Rivers state governor, Chief of Staff, who was said to have spoken at the thanksgiving service over the Supreme Court Victory, of the governor in the Ahoada East Local Government Area, has warned that the governor who is alive to his duties is capable of ‘’teaching his opponents a political lesson in the state as age is still on his side.
He was emphatic that the problem, Gov. Fubara have had ever since he had assumed office on May 29, 2023, in the state was that the 11 persons who had been controlling and sharing the resources of the state still wants it to be business as usual but Gov. Fubara , would not agree to it. He had said that the 11 persons, whose names remained a closely guided secret, had called on 20 other power brokers to participate in allocating the state resources to themselves.
The Rivers sate governor Chief of Staff, had said that that if he had agreed to the plot of the 11, power brokers, who had invited 20 others to join in the sharing the resources of the state, he would not have had any problem with the likes of Wike, meaning that is what had been happening in the state over the years.
This is where Olanipekun Olukoyede, led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, may have to step in to find out how the oil –rich Rivers state allocations from the Federation Account and 13%, Derivation funds, had been spent between 1999 and now.
The Chief of Staff to Gov. Fubara, could give such an insider information because his principal was the state Account General of Rivers state, under former Gov. Wike’s Administration. The refusal of Gov. Fubara, to join forces with the 11 power brokers to share the state resources among themselves, may have informed why he has taken advantage of the thanks giving service in Ahoada East Local Government Area, to make a presentation of N200,000.00 each to 65 small scale business owners and another presentation of N500,000.00 each to the 13 Coordinators of ‘’the Simplified Movement’’ by the Chief of Staff.
The question on the lips of most people was: what is the Simplified Movement all about, if not Gov. Fubara’s way creating opportunities for his Chief of Staff to waste the resources of the state and win new political converts that will work for him ahead of the 2027, general elections.
