Following the escalation of the crisis in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the governor has said he would institute an investigative panel to look into the governance of the state in the last eight years before he came in.
Since he made the announcement, the two camps have been attacking each other, using any available medium. Fubara’s hardline decisions followed the defection of 27 members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), believed to be supporters of Nyesom Wike, who crossed over to the All Progressives Congress (APC), with an instruction from the state’s APC Caretaker Committee (CTC) Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, to immediately impeach Governor Fubara.
Seeing the direction the Wike backed APC lawmakers were going, Fubara decided to demonstrate his political strength as the governor of the state. He declared the state House of Assembly, once said to be the best in the country, unconducive for sittings and commenced ‘demolition and repair’ of the complex.
The Speaker declared that the 27 lawmakers who defected to APC had lost their seat, while the governor signed an Executive Order, moving the sittings of the lawmakers, now only four, to one of the chambers in the Government House.
With tension rising in the two camps, Wike seems to have grown taciturn after his last public outing during which he apologised to Rivers’ people for ‘helping unappreciative’ Fubara to become their governor, with a pledge that he would correct the ‘error’ at an appropriate time.
To observers of the unfolding drama in Rivers, it will be interesting to hear how Wike will explain to the panel how he spent the state’s money for the hundreds of projects he was commissioning on a daily basis; who benefited from the projects and the quality of these projects. Interestingly, Fubara was the state’s Accountant General during Wike’s tenure.
One would have expected Fubara to cover the tracts of his estranged godfather, but politics has now pushed them apart. Thus, for Wike, it is time to show if ‘Mr. Project’ really deserved the accolades he was receiving while in office, or whether he should prepare for a space at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cell as his current position as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister under President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet does not give him an immunity from investigation, suspension, arrest and prosecution.
Hon. John Kome, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Ikeja Constituency 1, Lagos, while speaking on the development, quoted popular adages, “What goes around, comes around. Those who live in glass houses do not throw stones. Whoever pays the piper, dictates the tunes.”
Dr Kome stressed that Gov Fubara governs Rivers State at the moment and has the constitutional powers to look into past governance in the state.
According to Kome, “Being in the helm of affairs, the escalation of the crisis in the state, could cost his administration a lot of backward development.
“Setting up a panel of inquiry into the affairs of the previous administration in Rivers State may open a can of worms which may either silence the heat on his administration, or heat up the already volatile situation.
“Prior to this time, several highly placed individuals in Rivers State have sued for peace in the state without either party in the crisis heeding the call. But, with this step being contemplated by the governor, tempers will either flare up, or calm down.
“Godfatherism in Nigerian politics has created a lot of corruption which has hitherto plagued the rapid development of Nigeria. Past Heads of Government knowing full well that their administration could be probed by the incoming one, would go to any length to perpetuate their anointed candidates as successors with the intention that their deeds in government would be covered from public scrutiny.
“But, where disagreements come in, the resultant vector is what is playing out in Rivers State. Should Gov. Fubara go ahead with his threat to probe the past administration in Rivers State, the world will be alarmed by revelations and incredible facts about how the wealth of the state was mismanaged.”
Hon. Dennis Adikwuru, also a PDP chieftain and former member, Imo State Presidential Campaign Council, Media and Publicity Sub-committee in the 2023 election, noted that Fubara as the governor of Rivers State, is the custodian of the people’s sovereignty, which they surrendered in exchange of good governance.
Hon. Adikwuru, former State Publicity Secretary, Imo State Professionals for Atiku, and the State Coordinator, Imo PDP Grassroots Movement, continued: “If the governor has discovered, or received petitions on the looting of the state by any public officer, the step of setting up a Panel of Inquiry is right and expedient.
“Specifically linking the former governor, Nyesom Wike, to the crux of the inquiry brings an interesting scenario to watch. Does it mean that Wike is living in a glass house and has been throwing stones recklessly? Is it possible that Wike has dirty hands and yet, wants to go to equity? The child who does not want the mother to sleep must also lose sleep.
“Going by the trend in national corruption, a reasonable politician who has served for the length of time as that of Wike should stay away from controversies and allow his successor a breathing space to face governance. But, I will tell you that Wike has one option of staying away from Rivers’ treasury, or he will get humbled.
“Who does not know that Wike is one of the most ‘flambouyant’ politicians Nigeria has ever produced? I will sum up by commending Governor Fubara and urging him to expedite action for an accelerated conduct of the Panel of Inquiry.”
Hon. Charles Anike, National President, Eastern Union (EU), a political pressure group for the people of the Old Eastern Region, stated: “The crisis rocking the peace of the good people of Rivers State was expected. The high handedness and political arrogance of Nyesom Wike can hardly be tolerated by anybody, especially an incumbent governor.
“Wike always overrated himself and sees himself as an extraordinary person, who is above the law. Their disagreements would have started right from the inauguration ground. But, Sim Fubara showed maturity and tolerated his overbearing influence for three months.
“The recent decision by the governor to set up a probe panel into the governance of the state during Wike’s administration must have been the last option for Fubara to tame Wike and his die-hard supporters who have vowed to stop at nothing in making the state ungovernable for the governor.
“Rivers State is blessed with a lot of political bigwigs, men and women of substance who will not just fold their hands and watch one over ambitious man return Rivers State to a killing field, which is the best option for Wike’s men.
“The decision was perfect because Fubara, as Wike’s former Accountant General, must know a lot that will interest his Rivers’ people. That will also reset Wike’s mind set to the present reality.”
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi, Convener, The Apostle Roundtable (TAC) and an apostle of good governance, described the crisis between Wike and Fubara as “A very sad development, but the reality of our hypocritical democracy.
“For crying out loud, Fubara was Wike’s Accountant General for eight years, the record keeper of whatever in the books that he wants to show us after his bitterness inspired a probe of Wike’s administration. Would he have taken this route if things had not fallen apart between them?
“Many years ago, Professor Wole Soyinka described our unfortunate leadership experience as gang raping. Nothing has brought it out like the crisis in Rivers State. Fubara once held the legs of the beautiful state for Wike to have his turn. Now, in his cry for ‘Emi lo kan’, he is hoping to bully Wike to step off rumpus and let him enjoy his turn. It is what it is. Witch-hunting! He should have set out with this from his very first day in the office.
“Hunger is also not helping matters, as politicians and the public are pitching sides with whichever side is making meals available to them. I saw a video recently of shameless grown men chanting rhymes of ‘Fubara Must Obey Wike’ like kindergartens. Fubara to obey Wike as what, the President of Nigeria?
“This crisis is not about to end until one of the two is consumed by it. When two brothers fight to the point of killing each other, tell Wike and Fubara, a stranger will inherit such fools!”
Barrister Emeka Iheonu, a Lagos lawyer, stated: “What is happening in Rivers State is an illustration of the dirtiness in Nigeria’s politics. Only selfish interests prevail even when you think a politician is performing.
“Planning to set up a Panel of Inquiry is just the governor’s way of getting back at ex-Governor Wike, who has refused to give him a breathing space, just because he wants the current governor to be his errand boy since he supported and assisted Governor Fubara into the position. If there was no altercation between the duo, I believe there would have been no talk of any panel.”
Dr Andrews Okhirebhu, a Lagos cleric, stated: “What is happening in Rivers State can only be described with two words, ‘very unfortunate.’ We know too well that this cannot be happening in a place of order and civilised society. With this recurring decimal in Nigerian politics, one keeps asking if Nigeria is truly a civilised, enlightened and developing society, or a type of its own.
“It is very difficult to demystify the outwardly pretentious and display cloaks of civilisation from their actual barbaric and nuisance in leadership. The public who are actually their direct victims always clap their hands for these oppressors.
“I cannot pinpoint any other country or a state of millions of people where by ‘democratic’ means, the few elected for a specified period to pilot and manage the affairs of the economy of the state will want to take the people and their resources as their personal estate and properties. The question again is: Where are the covenant or legal documents that bind and checkmate individuals and leadership with a confined space and jurisdiction?
“What Governor Fubara wants to do by setting up a Panel of Inquiry into past governance ought to be normal in every state and the Federal Government, with every new government coming on board. This will bring sanity to the current madness in Nigeria’s politics and leadership.”
Comrade Tola Oresanwo, Director of Administration and Programmes, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), stated: “The crisis in Rivers State has metamorphosed from ordinary power tussle to a show of shame that is inimical to growth and development of the state. As the saying goes, when two elephants fight, the grass suffers.
“The good people of Rivers State do not deserve the misgovernance being meted out to them by the petty rivalry between the immediate-past governor of the state and the incumbent. I want to believe that by the powers conferred on Governor Fubara by the Rivers State Commission of Enquiry Act and the Nigerian Constitution, he has the power to investigate any government, including that of his former principal, Wike.
“However, the inquiry into the activities of the last administration should not be carried out based on sheer vendetta, or as a means of settling scores. But, it should be a fact-finding exercise aimed at setting the records straight, letting the people know what was done right or otherwise during the heydays of the past administration and calling those who may have committed one infraction or the other to come and give account of their stewardship.
“If this is what the panel of inquiry will be doing, then I think it is a welcome development. We all know that the incumbent governor was part and parcel of the past administration, hence he should also be ready to come out clean by appearing before the panel, if or whenever he is called upon to do so.” (Daily Independent)
