A sharp rebuke has been issued against former Rivers State Governor Rufus Ada George, with accusations of fostering violence and ethnic division during his tenure, rather than contributing to the state’s development.
Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, in a statement on Thursday, urged the former governor to “be circumspect and stop advertising shamelessness at old age”.
He further challenged Ada George to name a single positive achievement beyond instigating conflict.
His rebuke came in reaction to comments by Ada George at a press conference the day before, in which he had blamed Wike for the political crisis in Rivers State.
But Olayinka said, “At old age, people should begin to desist from acting shamelessly,” Olayinka stated on Thursday, asserting that Ada George’s legacy is marred by the introduction of the “Bush Boys” militant group, used to settle political scores and resulting in the deaths of innocent individuals.
Olayinka questioned Ada George’s subsequent political relationships, asking, “After leaving office as Governor in 1993, what happened to his relationship with Dr Peter Odili, who was his deputy? Why did he not support Odili for governor in 1999 and 2003? Why was he in All People’s Party (APP) while Odili was in People’s Democratic Party (PDP)?”
He further cited the 2008 Justice Kayode Eso-led Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission, saying, “Records of his involvement in the activities of the Bush Boys are well documented in the report of the 2008 Justice Kayode Eso led Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which heard accusations that he (Ada George) sponsored the Bush Boys in the September 2001 violence. Where are the Bush Boys he introduced and funded to kill and maim people in Rivers then?”
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Olayinka also criticized Ada George’s handling of local conflicts, stating, “As a former Governor of Rivers State, he could not reconcile the warring Okrika factions, reason they didn’t have an Amayanabo until Wike became governor. Rather than resolve the chieftaincy crisis, Ada George took side and used his Bush Boys militant group against those against his preferred candidate. As Rivers State Governor, in 1993, when violence ensued in the Ogoni people’s protest against exploitation by Shell, Ada George took side with his former employer against the Ogoni people.”
He accused Ada George of supporting the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s actions, stating, “He never for once told Fubara the truth that it was illegal to run a House of Assembly of 32 members with just three members and that it is the height of wickedness to deny fellow indigenes of Rivers State their entitlements, thereby making it difficult for them to feed and take care of their wives and children.”
Olayinka concluded by condemning Ada George’s criticism of Minister Wike and President Tinubu’s intervention in the state’s political crisis.
“Today, at close to 85 years, the same Ada George, who was urging Fubara on in his regime of lawlessness, is addressing the press and advertising his shamelessness by accusing the FCT Minister of being behind the political crisis in Rivers State, including the imposition of a state of emergency and the appointment of sole administrators in all 23 local government areas. Also, did the same Ada George, not say that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a ‘meddlesome interloper who engaged in executive rascality by intervening in the crisis and reaching amicable resolutions that all parties signed?’ Therefore, Ada George is advised to for once, be circumspect and stop advertising shamelessness at old age”, Olayinka said.
© Ripples Nigeria
