Standing On Fubara’s Mandate

In a video that trended online recently, the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, was seen singing and dancing President Bola Tinubu’s campaign song, “On your mandate we shall stand”. His gesticulations and the way he moved his emaciated frame gave a hint of some sinister motives. Or triumph over some unknown enemies.

Not quite long after, the commissioners he planted in the current administration in Rivers State started resigning. It started from the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Zacchaeus Adangor. Then, the Commissioners for Works, George-Kelly Alabo; Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mrs Inime Aguma; and Special Duties, Emeka Woke, followed suit. Some others who have tendered their resignation letters are Commissioners for Transportation, Dr. Jacob Nbina; Education, Prof. Chinedu Mmom; Housing, Gift Worlu; and Finance, Isaac Kamalu. As of press time, at least 10 commissioners were said to have tendered their resignation letters.

Before the resignation of the commissioners, 27 House of Assembly members had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). They were elected on the platform of the PDP, but because they stood on Wike’s mandate, they decided to leave the platform on which they were elected. Legal experts say the lawmakers have lost their mandate. Supreme Court had since ruled on similar cases. But we operate a system where rules and laws can be turned upside down. Don’t be surprised to see the Supreme Court change its ruling if the matter comes up there.

In name, Wike himself is still a member of the PDP. But he is body and soul with the APC. He connived with the ruling party during the presidential election to perform some electoral magic that made Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, to win in Rivers State. The President rewarded him with an appointment as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

From his base in Abuja, Wike still wants to control happenings in Rivers State. And that is the crux of the current crisis in the state. He has his foot soldiers. He calls them his structure. His handpicked governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has no firm grip over his commissioners and Assembly members. That was why the lawmakers attempted to initiate impeachment proceedings against him last October. The lawmakers appear to have no mind of their own. They apparently acted on the instruction of the one who sponsored them to the Assembly.

But Fubara is no fool. Physically, he looks dovish. But, he is like the proverbial rat that will bite you and blow you air to cushion the pain so you won’t move to kill it. As soon as the impeachment talks came up, explosion and fire rocked part of the Assembly complex. President Tinubu tried to intervene to broker peace. Fubara came back from the peace meeting in Abuja to show a remorseful mien and apologized for the crisis in the state. He promised to embrace peace. We thought the matter was over.

Last Wednesday, December 13, 2023, bulldozers moved into the Assembly complex. Before the lawmakers could fathom what was going on, the expensive complex had come down. It has been demolished. At the same time, the governor presented the 2024 budget proposal to four lawmakers loyal to him in Government House, Port Harcourt. His own factional lawmakers are led by Edison Ehie while Wike’s faction has Martins Amaehule as Speaker.

The state government has a ready-made explanation for the demolition of the Assembly complex. According to the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Warisenibo Joe Johnson, the demolition was based on advice of professionals to discontinue the use of the building in its present state. He said the complex had structural defects arising from the fire and explosion of last October.

This is monumental waste! Public funds will be deployed to reconstruct this complex. Are we moving forward or backwards as a nation? Soon, individuals will begin to count their losses in this whole theatre of the absurd. Already, Ehie, the factional Speaker loyal to Fubara reportedly had his residence attacked by gunmen said to have been led by a senior police officer in the state.

In a way, I like the way the governor is trying to assert himself now. We must call bad political godfathers to order. We must put a stop to their impunity. I blame the PDP in all these. I don’t know why the party has not sacked Wike. He has shown in all his actions that he is not a true member of the party. During the campaigns for the general election, he led a group of four other renegade governors at the time to rebel against the PDP. The party had sacked some members for anti-party activities. Why it has not deemed it necessary to boot Wike out for anti-party activities is still strange to me.

Elder statesman and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, was bold enough to speak out against Wike’s shenanigans. Clark wondered why Wike who had denounced the godfather phenomenon immersed himself in the antics of godfathers. He urged Tinubu to call the former governor to order, saying Rivers State was very important to the stability of our national economy.

Other elders and stakeholders in the Niger Delta should emulate Clark. An elder does not stay at home while a goat delivers on its tether. They must speak out now and call a spade by its name. Else, this nonsense will continue.

Rivers State has become a reference point for political battles between governors and their successors. Former Governor Peter Odili had a soured relationship with his successor, Rotimi Amaechi, when he left office. Amaechi handed over to Wike. But the gulf that separates their relationship is wider than that of Odili and Amaechi. Now, Wike and Fubara have taken the same pathway. The tragedy of it all is that Fubara has merely stayed a little over six months in office.

The good people of Rivers State will bear the brunt of this fight. Good governance will take a flight. As it is now, the major thing that will be on Fubara’s mind will be how to tackle his godfather and save himself the embarrassment of being removed from office. He will most likely deploy resources that would have gone for development to crisis management. Wike himself will also be distracted from his main assignment of superintending over the affairs of the FCT.

I laugh at suggestions that President Tinubu should intervene. Yes, it is good if he intervenes. He has already done so, but it didn’t yield much dividend. He is the ultimate godfather of Nigerian politics. He is a member of the APC. He knows and appreciates the role Wike played in bringing him victory in Rivers State. Except Governor Fubara joins the APC tomorrow, Tinubu will most likely have sympathy for the man who performed magic for him in Rivers State. Wike even appears to be understudying the President who has Lagos State under his firm grip. Tinubu’s political structure is what is still holding Lagos today. And you think Wike would want to allow his own structures to go down?

My suggestion to Fubara is to stand firm and resolute. As the incumbent governor, he is the one holding the knife and the yam now. What Nigerians understand most in politics is money. That is what has worked for Tinubu. It has also worked for Senator Godswill Akpabio, the exponent of “what money cannot do, more money will do.” That is what is working for Wike at the moment. Fubara should find a way to deploy this talisman to create his own political base and consolidate on it. The commissioners who resigned are not indispensable. They have resigned to irrelevance. Let Fubara quickly appoint his own men to take over their positions.

It will be melodious to hear the governor’s acolytes sing, “On Fubara’s mandate we shall stand!” Yes, he is the man elected to govern Rivers State for four years. He should be allowed to concentrate on his core mandate. Those singing APC’s mandate song in Abuja should allow him be. Enough is enough!

Re: Dubai’s climate change jamboree

Casmir, APC has proved to be government for ‘Looters and Liars’. Its first eight years passed away leaving tears, sorrow and blood. The years were characterized by looting and lies. No wonder the arrival of Tinubu started with removal of fuel subsidy which has paved way for continuous looting and lies often camouflaged with subsidy’s palliatives. Nigerians should not be deceived by ‘renewed hope’ agenda. This is another white elephant calculated to over-enrich the favoured ones and impoverish the masses of this great country. A party that welcomes looters and brand them Angels with more lucrative appointment given to them cannot improve the conditions of the citizens. A country which leaders embark on festive celebrations in the name of official engagement cannot salvage the sufferings of the citizens; they will rather impose more sufferings on them through senseless taxation and burdensome practices.

-Pharmacist Okwuchukwu Njike, +234 803 885 4922

Casmir, it is an irony that, while Nigeria has superfluous natural resources, it, unfortunately, has a dearth of  selfless, compassionate or in summary ‘good leaders’ to help manage these God-given resources to the benefit of all! Simply put, the quality of leadership in Nigeria is appalling. Otherwise, whoever approved the list of 1,411 delegates to the COP28 has done a disservice to the nation and to the tax payers in particular. What a monumental waste of funds! The comment of the ministry of information is enough proof that the trip was a circus show of ego centrists in power. If the venue was Togo or Burundi, the number of the delegates would have been less than 200! It is the quality and relevance of the delegates at the COP28 that matters; not the quantity! If 300 delegates had attended and come back to organise seminars, workshops etc in Nigeria based on what they learnt, it would have been more economical and sensible. ‘Profligates in power’ love to show off as they are full of riotous living. Tinubu has robed Nigeria in the garb of ‘acting big nation’. Funny is the fact that Nigeria will go borrowing after creating another false impression. Eko (Lagos) for show is now Nigeria for show too! Adieu to my uncle, the late Chief Frank Ovie Kokori. Condolence message to his children (my cousins): Cordillia, Frank jnr. Aghorghor, Efe and Onome. May uncle’s soul rest in peace. May his labour over Nigeria not be in vain IJN! Amen! What we are experiencing now, is not the type of democracy he envisaged and died for. Pity!

-Mike, Mushin, 0816 111 4572