By Ovie Okpare
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, says he was not happy with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State as well as the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Wike, an immediate past governor of Rivers, said he had wanted “outright removal” of Fubara as governor.
The FCT Minister spoke on Friday during a media parley with journalists in Abuja, noting that President Tinubu’s action was meant to save the governor from impeachment and subsequent removal by members of the State House of Assembly.
He said, though he was not happy with the decision of Mr. President, he had accepted the development in good faith.
Wike and his suspended successor have been involved in a political crisis resulting in lawmakers loyal to the FCT minister initiating impeachment proceedings against Fubara and threats by militant groups to disrupt oil production in the region.
However, following the political tension in the state, President Bola Tinubu, last month, declared a state of emergency in the state and equally suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, and members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
In their place, President Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibas as sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs pending resolution of the crisis.
But speaking on the crisis, Wike “I am not happy with the state of emergency”, stressing that as a politician, what he wanted was an outright removal.
“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.
“The matter is in court, but people must say the truth. The governor was gone. 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 play”, Wike added.
