… Accuses Politicians Of Plotting To Grab N600bn Post-Emergency Funds
Daud Olatunji
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has warned Governor Siminalayi Fubara that open support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not guarantee a return ticket in the 2027 governorship election, even as he alleged that desperate politicians are scheming to corner the N600bn reportedly left in Rivers State coffers after the lifting of emergency rule.
Wike issued the twin warnings at separate engagements in Rivers State over the weekend, in remarks that further underscored the deepening political crisis and power struggle rocking the oil-rich state.
Speaking during a visit to Enohia Local Government Area, Wike dismissed the notion that recent defections to the All Progressives Congress and public declarations of loyalty to President Tinubu would translate into automatic electoral advantage ahead of 2027.
“The issue is not whether you support Tinubu or not. That decision was taken long ago. Nobody needs to come here to tell me they are for Tinubu. Supporting Tinubu will not earn anyone a ticket,” Wike said.
He stressed that loyalty to the President was already well established in Rivers State, particularly by the Rivers State House of Assembly, which he described as one of the earliest legislative bodies in the country to openly declare support for Tinubu.
“The Rivers State House of Assembly has done its job. They were the first in Nigeria to say, ‘On your mandate we stand.’ So the Tinubu issue is no longer an issue. Who in Rivers State is not for Tinubu? That alone cannot guarantee anyone a ticket,” he added.
Wike also accused some political actors of hypocrisy, alleging that individuals now proclaiming loyalty to Tinubu were the same people who had earlier dragged the House of Assembly to court, seeking to have lawmakers’ seats declared vacant.
“All those now chanting ‘on your mandate we stand’ failed when it mattered most. They could not vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
The comments came against the backdrop of Governor Fubara’s recent defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC, following a meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Fubara later announced his defection at the Government House in Port Harcourt, pledging support for the President, days after some members of the state assembly also joined the APC.
But Wike insisted that his political camp’s support for Tinubu was rooted in conviction, not opportunism.
“We have never wavered in our support for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. When we take decisions, we do so out of conviction, not because of what others are doing,” he said.
In a related development, Wike alleged that the disclosure of about N600bn in Rivers State’s coffers after the lifting of emergency rule had turned the state into a magnet for political opportunists bent on looting public funds.
He made the allegation on Saturday night while addressing members of the Rivers State House of Assembly at their legislative quarters along Aba Road, Port Harcourt.
According to him, several high-profile politicians from within and outside the state, who recently visited Governor Fubara, were motivated not by goodwill but by the desire to gain access to the huge funds allegedly left behind by the former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.).
“Given the experience in Nigerian politics, Nigerian politicians like Rivers money. Go and study it,” Wike said.
“If you want to make money in Rivers today, I don’t know how you made the mistake of announcing that there is N600bn. That announcement has triggered the interest of some politicians from other states. I know them.”
Wike alleged that some of the politicians had adopted a strategy of publicly attacking him in the media while privately positioning themselves to benefit from the state’s resources.
“They will say, ‘This Wike, enough is enough,’ and they collect. ‘Don’t worry, Wike’s time is over,’ and they collect. So for you to be able to suck part of that N600bn, you must say Wike’s time is over,” he said.
He described the situation as political opportunism taken to the extreme, warning that the public disclosure of the funds had “opened the door” for what he called political fraudsters.
“You went and told the public the amount of money. You opened the whole thing. Now people are hanging around, waiting for where they will perch,” Wike said.
The former governor further alleged that invoking President Tinubu’s name had become another tool for extracting money from Rivers State.
“Are you not seeing that they will say the President is happy with you, and they collect? They don’t want to hear Wike again; they collect. You people made the mistake of telling the world the amount of money. You see political 419 everywhere,” he added.
The controversy over the N600bn emerged in November when the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, disclosed that Vice Admiral Ibas left the sum in the state’s coffers upon his exit on September 18, following the lifting of the six-month emergency rule imposed by President Tinubu on March 18.
Amaewhule had raised concerns over the funds while lamenting the deplorable state of public schools in the state and questioning why part of the money could not be used to rehabilitate schools and recruit teachers.
Governor Fubara later confirmed the existence of the funds but clarified that he had left about N300bn in the treasury before his suspension and met roughly N600bn on his return.
He denied allegations of mismanagement and promised a detailed account of the funds.
Recent visits to Rivers State by top federal officials, including the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and APC leaders, have further fuelled political speculation ahead of 2027.
However, Wike urged political actors to respect the peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu during the height of the Rivers crisis, commending the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly for standing by the pact.
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