The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that a growing number of politicians are scheming to corner a share of the N600bn reportedly left in the coffers of Rivers State following the lifting of emergency rule in the state.
Wike made the allegation on Saturday night during a meeting with members of the Rivers State House of Assembly at their legislative quarters along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, warning that the disclosure of the huge sum had turned the state into a magnet for political opportunists from within and outside Rivers.
According to the former Rivers State governor, several high-profile politicians who recently visited the state and held meetings with Governor Siminalayi Fubara were driven not by goodwill or solidarity, but by the desire to access the funds allegedly left behind by the former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.).
Wike claimed that such politicians had perfected a strategy of publicly praising the governor—who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress—while privately positioning themselves to benefit from the state’s resources.
“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.”
He accused the politicians of deliberately attacking him in the media as a tactic to ingratiate themselves with the current administration in the state.
“They will say, ‘This Wike, enough is enough,’ and they collect. ‘Don’t worry, Wike’s time is over,’ and they collect,” he said. “So for you to be able to suck part of that N600bn, you must say Wike’s time is over.”
Wike described the situation as a classic case of political opportunism, insisting that the public disclosure of the funds had effectively “opened the door” for what he termed political fraudsters.
“You went and told the public the amount of money. You opened the whole thing,” he said. “Now people are hanging around. People are waiting for where they will perch.”
He further alleged that invoking the name of President Bola Tinubu had become another means of extracting benefits from Rivers State.
“Are you not seeing that they will say the President is happy with you, and they collect?” Wike asked. “They don’t want to hear Wike again; they collect. He doesn’t see the President again; they collect. You people made the mistake of telling the world the amount of money. You see political 419 everywhere.”
The controversy over the N600bn first became public in November when the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, disclosed during plenary 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 the issue while reacting to a report on the deplorable state of public schools in Rivers, questioning why part of the funds could not be deployed to rehabilitate schools and recruit qualified teachers.
Governor Fubara later confirmed the existence of the funds but clarified that he had left N300bn in the treasury before his suspension and met about N600bn on his return to office.
He dismissed allegations of mismanagement, insisting that the money was being spent prudently and promising to give a detailed account of his stewardship.
Recent visits by top federal officials to Rivers State have further fuelled political speculation.
Last week, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, led a delegation including the Ministers of Works and Environment to meet with Fubara, reportedly conveying President Tinubu’s satisfaction with the governor’s handling of affairs.
The APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, also recently accompanied Fubara to a project inauguration, urging residents to support both the governor and the President ahead of 2027.
Wike said the developments followed a familiar pattern in Rivers politics, where politicians position themselves around perceived access to state funds.
He concluded by commending the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly for sticking to the peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu during the political crisis, stressing that all parties must respect and uphold the pact.
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