Those praying for an end to the political crisis rocking Rivers State have been forced to perish the thought as the two main actors in the crisis, Governor Siminialayi Fubara and Barr. Nyesom Wike, remain at daggers drawn over the leadership of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Fubara, who has so far maintained his ground that he is fighting a just cause by protecting the interest of Rivers, has come under criticisms from some powerful political actors outside the state, who feel that he is fighting a lost battle.
Recall that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, mocked Fubara at a Public Lecture and Book Launch organised to mark Wike’s birthday in Port Harcourt last December, saying that people must rise to condemn the politics of betrayal and treachery.
He said: “I do not know what is happening in Rivers State but I hope that the successor to Wike realises the fact that no matter how the bird flies, the legs are pointing to the ground.
“Something must be wrong. Today is not for politics. Today is for Nyesom Wike. But sometimes I wonder, I would never be the governor given the resources of Rivers State and then I disagree with my House of Assembly and I am not able to poach at least, one member out of the other group. If I do not do that, it means that there is something wrong with my political philosophy.”
According to a politician in Fubara’s camp, who declined to have his name in print, the poaching of the lawmakers in the pro-Wike Rivers Assembly under Hon. Bright Ameawhule can truly change the game in Fubara’s favour but allowing the courts to do their work was much more important for the governor.
“It is unprecedented for a politician in Akpabio’s calibre, a statesman, who should be neutral or careful in his comments to have openly taken sides,” he said.
“It is also out of place for anybody to blame the governor for calmly stating that the feud between himself and Wike is about the resources of the state and nothing else.”
It might appear that Fubara is lacking the upper hand but recent court victories, especially the ruling of the Court of Appeal to block the moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from withholding the monthly revenue of Rivers over the passage of the 2024 budget points to the contrary.
Fubara’s latest win at the court- the nullification of the congresses conducted by the PDP in the state in 2024- has stopped the pro Wike-led state executive committee (SEC) of the PDP from overseeing the affairs of the party.
The congresses were conducted in the 319 wards and 23 LGAs in August 2024, by the PDP faction loyal to Wike.
But the court, presided over by Justice Stephen Jumbo, stopped Aaron Chukwuemeka from parading himself as the chairman, while delivering a ruling on an interlocutory injunction filed by Edwin Woko and Love Otuonye (both lawyers) and two other PDP members.
Meanwhile, Fubara has advised the Commissioner of Police in the state to put the general interest of the people of the state above other considerations, so that he can work to ensure that peace prevailed and there is stability.
Fubara gave the advice when he received CP Olugbenga Adepoju, the 47th Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, on courtesy visit, at Government House in Port Harcourt last week.
The Governor said: “You are not a new person in our state. You’ve been here, more especially, in charge of Operations. It then means if I start to talk about my story, it’ll connect with your activities in Operations. But I am not going to talk about my story.
“But the good thing here is, you said something that I want to really anchor on. Your duty, as it stands now, is to work with the government, work with other sister agencies to maintain law and order, protect lives and property of the people of Rivers State.
“Be apolitical, as you just read in your address. Don’t go to nocturnal meetings in people’s houses, and in the morning, you come and declare war on Rivers people. That is the only advice I will give to you.”
