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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the prolonged political crisis in Rivers State denied Governor Siminalayi Fubara the opportunity to seek a second term, blaming what he described as poor advice from political associates and external forces seeking to hijack the state.
Wike made the remarks during the August edition of his monthly media chat aired live on Channels Television on Tuesday, where he reflected on his troubled relationship with his estranged political ally.
The former Rivers governor said he repeatedly warned Fubara not to abandon the political structure that brought him to power.
“I said, look, don’t derail. I came as governor, I had crisis. When I came as governor, there was nothing. They didn’t even renovate the Government House,” Wike said.
He recalled inheriting an administration with little or no resources, disclosing that he had to borrow ceremonial vehicles from former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
“When I came, I had to borrow vehicles from the former governor of Ondo, Mimiko, these parade vehicles. Nobody kept any vehicle; I didn’t have one vehicle.
“But before I left as governor, I packed out from Government House one and a half years before. I renovated Government House. I bought vehicles for the governor, the deputy governor and the governor’s wife. I did that,” he said.
Wike said his expectation was that Fubara would build on the foundation he left behind rather than dismantle it.
“Somebody had laid a foundation. Look, this is where I stopped. If you continue this way, our dream is to be able to compete with Lagos. What is wrong with that?” he asked.
The FCT minister alleged that individuals who initially opposed Fubara’s emergence as governor later became his close allies and encouraged him to confront his political benefactors.
“Somebody comes, and that’s why you have to be careful. Those who didn’t want you to be governor now became your friends. Obviously, they will destroy you, thinking that coming closer to you is to fight us.
“At the end of the fight, I have not lost anything. What have I lost? Nothing. But you have lost. Your intention was to go for a second term, is it not correct? And you are not going,” Wike said.
When asked by an interviewer whether he still loved Fubara, Wike replied: “If I don’t love him, why would we support him? That’s the point I’m making.”
He disclosed that efforts were made to reconcile both camps but said political considerations eventually blocked a settlement.
“There was a time we all thought, we all agreed, and said, ‘Look, can we allow bygones to be bygones?’ But something fundamental came up in politics.
“They said, ‘Look, if you allow this now, there are those who are here who want to see that we are no longer politically relevant,’” he said.
Wike further alleged that external interests sought to take control of Rivers State for financial gain.
“There are external forces who want to hijack Rivers State. You don’t allow them to hijack Rivers State. There are those who see Rivers State as a cash cow.
“I can tell you so many things happened. There are people, even some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who you would never believe can play that kind of role, who were virtually living with us in government,” he said.
According to him, some of those individuals later advised Fubara to resist his political camp.
“When this thing happened, they were so bitter that they started giving the governor wrong advice: ‘Don’t worry, the law says this, the law didn’t say this.”
“They were sending them aircraft, then they would relax in the jet. To them, they were king. So, for him to continue to be there, they would exert that kind of influence.
“We said no, this cash cow must end now. You won’t have it again. Take as much as you can, but you have to stop,” he said.
