The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has issued a stern warning to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, advising him to halt alleged “blackmail” tactics aimed at President Bola Tinubu, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Judiciary. The controversy follows a recent court ruling that halted allocation payments to Rivers State.
During a press conference held in Abuja, Rivers APC Chairman Tony Okocha accused Governor Fubara of attempting to manipulate public opinion to regain political ground. Okocha asserted that Fubara’s political position was “declining” and that these actions were an attempt to salvage his career.
Okocha went on to describe the governor as “Nyesom Wike’s investment,” crediting Wike with elevating Fubara to political prominence. He emphasized, “Wike brought Fubara to where he is today. He lifted him from obscurity to political crescendo. Nobody is suffocating anybody. The fight in Rivers State is between Sim Fubara and Sim Fubara.”
According to the APC chairman, the ongoing political crisis in Rivers could have been resolved if Governor Fubara had heeded President Tinubu’s intervention efforts.
When questioned about potential solutions to the impasse, Okocha stressed that the governor needed to adhere to the law, especially the regulations governing state budgets.
“Sections 120, 121, 122 speak to this issue regarding budget clearly.
“As a political party, the All Progressives Congress, we stand with and by the judgment of the court because it is what will hold sway in the civil society, it is the court, not one man morality.
“We are also using this opportunity to speak against attempts to disparage innocent persons namely; Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister. In all the cases in court, there are about 32 cases in which he is not a party to any. Why bring in the President?”, he queried.
Addressing the recent calls from some Niger Delta leaders and stakeholders to mediate in the Rivers dispute, Okocha dismissed these attempts as “too late.”
In his words, “I say it is foolishness for anyone to cry when the head is off. There is also this aphorism, that you don’t cry over a spilled milk.
“Where have these elders been? Where? The matter is narrowing down, if you ask me; because the only other hurdle to escape is the Supreme Court.
“What are the elders coming to do at this late hour, if they actually would want to come? What are they coming to do? They are the same people who told the governor, that you are a know-all and do-all, they encouraged the governor to believe that his head was bigger than his pillow.
“They were the ones, they told him, look, your powers are elastic, what can you not do? And the governor agreed to that and today, the Ikwerre man tells you that not everybody that comes to plan your building will be part of the building.
“”No. A lot of them have disappeared into thin air. At the time, they came to counsel the governor against the decision that he signed to. And the governor is on the hot seat. So to say to you that I don’t see that working is way, way too late.
“But I wish. We want peace, Simple thing. See, the only way to bring peace is to follow the law.”
