A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday alleged that the feud between the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, is about the sharing of the state’s funds.
Amaechi, who spoke in an interview with DW Africa, insisted that President Bola Tinubu’s imposition of an emergency rule in the state was unconstitutional.
Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Fubara fell out in late 2023.
The feud between the two former allies has divided the state into two camps with some members of the state House of Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule and a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) pitching tent with Wike while some elders in the state, including Amaechi and former Governor Peter Odili supporting Fubara.
President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state on March on March 18.
He also suspended Fubara, his deputy and members of the Assembly for six months over the prolonged political crisis in the state.
The former governor alleged that the President had a hand in Rivers’ crisis because of the 2027 general election.
He said: “The fight between the current governor of Rivers State and the FCT minister is about sharing money. If not, what is the quarrel? Nigerians don’t dislike corruption anymore. I have not seen anybody on the street querying what the problem is. Can both of them speak to the public and tell us what the problem is?
“We are now denied democracy. Rivers State is the only state in the country currently not enjoying democracy. They have imposed military rule on us.
“Secondly, the president acted outside the Constitution. Section 188 states how a governor can leave office, either by death, resignation, or impeachment. It didn’t say that one day you wake up and a man called the president of Nigeria will throw you out of office, which makes democracy unstable.
“Rumours are everywhere that if any governor is not careful, the president will remove you. So the Rivers issue is about sharing money and 2027 politics.
“If the President said that the pipe that exploded was the reason why he tagged Rivers unstable and insecure by declaring a state of emergency, what about the other parts of the country where there is insecurity?
“ Is the President saying that they should impose an emergency rule on him? They can’t because he is a democratically elected President. There are insecurity issues in the North-East and North West, even in the South-East and South-South.
“The governor has no responsibility for the blown pipes in Rivers. Security responsibility rests solely on the President. Why punish a man who did not commit any offence?”
