Ahead of the court rulings on the emergency rule and suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, by President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that the suspension of democratic system in the state was due to Fubara’s decision to jettison the president’s advices for his colleagues on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike added that the governors were also behind the face-off between him and his successor which started after Fubara began to seek their suggestions on issues particularly how to relate with him and that of the lawmakers, saying they misled him.
He noted that this and other issues formed the reason he supported the Martin Amaewhule-led members to impeach him from office as the governor of the oil-rich state.
The minister lamented that his plans suffered major setbacks after the president intervened and declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the House of Assembly for six months.
He, meanwhile, condemned those criticizing the president over the action, saying Fubara and his supporters including the PDP should be praising Tinubu rather than the condemnation that had taken over the media space.
While backing the president, Wike disclosed that the impeachment plans had commenced but the president’s move saved Rivers from implosion, arguing that the decision to appoint a sole administrator following Fubara’s suspension was a step in the right direction.
The former Rivers governor, who said this on Friday in Abuja during a media parley with select journalists, said: “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.
“However, people must tell the truth. The governor was gone. He was gone, yes… so when people say the president did this, I say they should be praising him. Every morning, they should go to the president and ask, ‘Can we wash your feet for saving us?”, he added.
