•Anabs Sara-Igbe
The National Coordinator, South-South Elders Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, has said that the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, cannot be subservient to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Sara-Igbe, who stated this during an interview on Channels Television weekend, said it was difficult to control a sitting governor in Nigeria because of the huge influence and power available to the occupiers of the office.
He said, “You cannot make somebody a governor; a very important seat in Nigeria —that was the seat Odili sat and he almost became the president; that was the seat (former governor Rotimi) Amaechi sat and he connived with others to remove a sitting president; that is the seat Wike himself sat and became a superman — and you are asking somebody who is on that seat to be subservient. But the governor is still loyal.
“The minister, because of greed and one man who wants to get everything, the first thing they did was to take over the two parties, the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. I have never seen this in the history of politics. I have been in politics for the past four decades or more. I have never seen one man belong to the government in power and also be in opposition.”
According to the former spokesperson for the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, Fubara was tired of Wike’s dominance in his cabinet and control of state affairs, leading to his difficulties in managing the state’s funds and running the government.
He said, “Fubara opted to resign because, apart from the way forces above him prevented him from asserting his independence, he didn’t have enough control over the state’s funds and had difficulty running his government. It took the intervention of some PDP leaders in the state before he reconsidered his position.”
Also, the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Dr Omenazu Jackson, said Rivers people must rise and protect the state.
Jackson said, “Well, I think that Rivers people should gear up and protect the political and socio-economic interest of Rivers State. No one man has the power and authority to put Rivers State in his armpit.
“We have witnessed it all these years, unfortunately only a few people raised their voices to condemn the level of political rascality and emperor-like approach to democracy Nyesom WIke has deployed in Rivers State.
“It didn’t start today. What snowballed into this was that he is having issues with the current governor. The high-level political gangsterism started in 2014, everybody is aware.”
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, described Wike as an inconsistent who should be avoided.
Osadolor, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH yesterday, said, “Any leader who cares about development should avoid Wike. Either internal or external development, you must avoid a character like Wike because he is not consistent.
“Any sensible person should avoid Wike. I have said it times without number, Wike is inconsistent and Wike is shameless.”
I won’t be dragged down —Wike
But addressing the Rivers crisis yesterday, Wike warned politicians not to pull down the ladder they climbed to ascend positions.
He spoke when some traditional rulers of Ogba land visited him at his residence in Port Harcourt.
The traditional rulers, led by Nwachukwu Nnam-Obi III, visited Wike to congratulate him on his 56th birthday.
“No politician will fold his hands and allow to be dragged down.My team and I would accept peace but we won’t allow ourselves to be dragged down because when we go down, who will protect our people? Who will talk about our own interest?
“Everywhere you are, even in the traditional institutions, there are rules. You can’t run away from it. In a political group, there are rules. You cannot say because an Oba has emerged and then an Oba will not follow the rules of the traditional institution. No! An Oba will always obey the rules. So also in politics, there are things you must not do and there are things you must do.
“Don’t pull the ladder that you use in climbing. When you are coming down, the ladder may not be there. Also leave the ladder so that other people can also climb the ladder.”
Meanwhile, the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, has slammed Governor Siminalayi Fubara over the demolition of the State House of Assembly, saying the governor’s action was illegal.
The factional Speaker also rejected the 2024 appropriation bill signed into law by Fubara, even as he lampooned the governor for withholding funds meant for the running of the Assembly.
Amaewhule said he and 26 other lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress because there was division in the party.
Amaewhule said this during the APC, Rivers State dedication service and stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt yesterday.
He stated, “What the governor is doing by not releasing funds to the state Assembly is against the constitution. As we speak, the governor has gone to demolish the House of Assembly complex, an edifice built with taxpayers’ money.
“He personally supervised it, not minding that our property, everything belonging to members and staff inside, and they are looting them, documents and our archives.”
Amaewhule described as a nullity the passage of the 2024 budget by the factional Speaker, Edison Ehie, and four lawmakers.
He said, “The governor… we heard that some four people gathered as a committee of friends met somewhere. I don’t know what they are doing. Rivers people know today that the House of Assembly of any state is defined by the constitution.
“The only way you can convey the House, you need to have a quorum. The quorum is 11. If you are not up to eleven, anything you are doing is a family meeting or beer parlour meeting.
“Anything you hear they have done (budget), ignore them, It is null and void. The law is clear. Anything you are doing must be in line with the dictates of the constitution and the standing orders of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“So, anytime we meet, it is Rivers State House of Assembly. Anytime they meet, it is beer parlour meeting. If they like, they should carry all the funds of the state and give them to them, they do not have the name ‘House of Assembly’. So, don’t bother yourself, the House of Assembly is intact.
“The reason is that we have your mandate to sit in the House and make laws for the good governance of Rivers State and carry out our oversight functions.”
Amaehwule, who was flanked by 25 of his colleagues, added that: “We have gathered information that they are planning to attack us tomorrow (Monday). They want to go to the quarters to attack us. You are aware they came to attack my residence.
“We hear they are planning another one to attack us again. So watch and see. But there is no form of attack that can deter us.”
He described the defection of the 27 lawmakers as constitutional.
“We made sure that we followed due process. We made sure that we did not do anything outside the 1999 constitution. The Constitution has given room for people to defect.
“That is why Section 109 (1) (G), allows us, serving legislators, who want to defect, to do so with a proviso that there is a division in the party upon which they rode to the House of Assembly.
“There is clearly a division in the PDP. So in line with that section, we defected to the All Progressives Congress.”
