The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying that he personally preferred the outright removal of the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Wike stated this on Friday during a media parley in Abuja
It is instructive that President Tinubu last month declared a state of emergency in the state, citing escalating political instability and recent security threats, including pipeline explosions.
The President also suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the House of Assembly for six months while appointing Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as sole administrator to steer the affairs of the state pending the resolution of the crisis.
Speaking on emergency rule, Wike said: “As a politician, I am not happy with the declaration of Emergency Rule in Rivers state. I wanted the outright removal of the governor. But for the interest of the state, the president did the right thing to prevent anarchy in the state.
“However, people must tell the truth. The matter is in court. The governor was gone. He was gone, yes… so when people say the president did this, I say they should be praising him. Every morning, they should go to the president and ask, ‘can we wash your feet for saving us?’”
“It is not in my place to make it good for the governor. As a politician, my business is not to make him comfortable and that is why there is power plane”
The FCT Minister lso questioned why Fubara has not reached out to him since his suspension.
He said, Has anybody taken it upon himself or herself to say, ‘this is where we are?’
“If I am the cause of the problem… has he ever called me as an elder to say what is the problem? Let us sit down and talk.”
Wike further disclosed that Tinubu’s intervention saved the state from plunging into further crisis.
Wike and Fubara have been at loggerheads since Fubara became governor while the conflict led to the emergence of factional speakers and a parallel assembly.
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