• Says Rivers lawmakers’ salaries, allowances withheld for one year

• Insists Rivers crisis will be followed in court to logical conclusion

• Nigerians have rejected you, go home, Minister tells Atiku

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, yesterday scolded his successor as Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, for his recent alleged disrespectful comments on senior members of the bar and the bench.

Wike also deplored what he perceived as the governor’s ill-treatment of three prominent citizens of the state said to have gone the extra mile to get him elected.

To those he claimed to be crusading for his castration  within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Wike said such people  are only “digging your graves.”

“It has not started. We have capacity,” he said,

“Look at people talking about suspending me. Rivers is an asset and we cannot come and bow down for you. If you don’t know that Rivers is an asset,dare, dare anywhere you are.”

He did not spare former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, branding him a serial loser who has been repeatedly rejected by Nigerian voters.

He told the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election to pack his things and go home.

Atike was swift in responding to the Wike flak.

He called it  baseless rants and said “ It is clear that Mr. Wike is more concerned with self-interest than addressing the real challenges faced by the nation.”

Wike, speaking during a luncheon he organised in Port Harcourt, the state capital, in honour of the members of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly,  said:”somebody from I don’t know where, sitting before people and said so-called legal luminary turning laws upside down. Shame. Power. That is why we have to be careful who you give power to.”

It was a veiled reference to Fubara’s remarks during the Rivers State Legal Week last Thursday.

Wike said the governor’s  comments about cases and their jurisdiction smacked of ignorance and  wondered why he (Fubara) continued to attack the likes of  OCJ Okocha (SAN) , Sergeant Awuse and Chief Alabrabra, all of whom  he once acknowledged as the three wise men that stood firm to make him a governor.

He alleged  that Awuse, who was the Chairman of the Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council was kicked out of the position by the governor when Awuse was in coma and battling for survival in London and needed the support of the government.

Wike said after Awuse’s maltreatment, the governor last Thursday turned his attention on  OCJ Okocha and judges and accused them of turning the law upside down.

His words: ” They said before you were the three wise men. Awuse was in coma in London, one of the wise men was removed as chairman of the Rivers State Traditional Council. When he was in coma, when he was looking for support and help, that was when he was removed.

“On Thursday, another wise man was insulted. When this wise man was called to the bar, this man was not in primary school. He (Fubara) came on national television to say these were the wise men  who stood firm for me when the decision was taken.  Today he now says the wise men are turning the law upside down.

“But they didn’t turn the law upside down when they made you. It is unfortunate. Look at OCJ and his positions in life: former chairman, Body of Benchers, former President Nigerian Bar Association, former Attorney-General.

“OCJ, Awuse and Alabrara nearly collapsed that day. They insisted we should allow this young man. We never knew we were living with a snake. You can imagine when you are sitting with a snake. God protected you and a snake never bite you. God is God”.

Wike said he decided to celebrate the lawmakers because of their resolve to fight against ingratitude and to protect the sacred principles of democracy.

He said: “What they have done is to say okay ingratitude we can’t accept it. What they have done is to say look we are the ones who labored, who had sleepless nights and put you there for all of us to be together. Today you hate all of us.

“Yes, these young men laboured from place to place, look at council chairmen. They took risks, spent money to put you there. All of a sudden armed robbers, thieves are all over the place. That is not life. When people come out to talk and said forgive. Forgive what?

“We are all human and you want to pretend as if nothing has gone wrong. How do you pretend?  I will never pretend. I decided with the leaders to thank them. It is not only when somebody has died but when they are alive to say you have done well.

“You have shown capacity and independence  of the legislature. You have shown that money cannot move you. Other states should emulate you. They seized their salaries for one year. They seized their allowances. They said they would come and beg. Are you begging today?  Will you beg tomorrow? You have shown them we are who we are.”

Wike said nobody would conquer his team in Rivers, and mocked the governor for exhibiting ignorance on judicial and legal matters.

Wike said: “This is Rivers and nobody will conquer us. He (Fubara) said anything that is a state matter must come to the state High Court. Shame. If you don’t know anything, say you don’t know anything. I feel so bad.

“The state assembly is challenging an illiterate government that you have no right to be spending money without budget and therefore the Central Bank cannot continue to release funds without budget. Can you sue at the state High Court? Where will you sue? They are mumu.

“APC went to court and say for you to conduct local government election, you must follow the procedure. INEC is the custodian of the voter register if they fail to follow the procedure’ INEC do not release the voter register.

“And to stop INEC, do you go to the state High Court. You go where?  The Federal High Court. And if INEC does not release the register, will there be election?”

Turning to OCJ Okocha, Wike called on the Nigerian Bar Association to protect the legal profession and safeguard the judiciary and stop lawyers, who have no knowledge of facts of cases and judgements from collecting money to attack judges on national television.

He said: “I have been in this political system from1998 till now. I have never taken break. So I am involved. If security agencies will go and investigate what politicians do if they want to reach out to judges and it is not possible, they come out and write petition against that judge.They will go and accuse the judge of taking bribes.”

He said his political family had maintained decorum and their belief in the judiciary by rejecting the temptation to attack judges even in the face of many ex-parte orders on the same matter.

He said: “Six High Court judges gave ex-parte orders 1 to 10. Have we ever written petitions?  Have we gone on television to castigate them? All we say is that they are not the final court. We tell our lawyer to go on appeal.”

Wike described the partnership of APC and PDP in the state as  a rainbow coalition and said  what would happen in the state would shock people.

You’re a serial loser, Wike tells Atiku

He then took on Atiku,dismissing him  as a  serial loser who has been repeatedly rejected by Nigerian voters.

Atiku,the minister said,should pack his things and go back home.

“I heard Atiku Abubakar say, oh they have rejected me in Rivers State. Okay, assuming so  though not conceding; he has lost so many times, Nigerians have also rejected him,” Wike said in the latest showdown between the two men.

The former Rivers State governor was apparently responding to a statement by Atiku on X in which he (Atiku) hailed Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara,Wike’s estranged political protégé  for “his unwavering commitment to the interests of the people, safeguarding the sanctity of the local government elections even amidst provocative challenges.”

He added: “With the conclusion of the local government election in Rivers State, the shadows of political intimidation and judicial chicanery have dissipated, paving the way for the noble pursuit of governance to commence in the state.

“From the bustling heart of Port Harcourt to the tranquil shores of Onne, the populace has spoken in harmonious unison, affirming that nothing is greater than democracy.

“As prophesied, it has now been revealed that the citizens of Rivers are astute and resolute, unwavering in their rejection of any form of political oppression, harassment, or the machinations of self-serving godfathers.”

Wike said Atiku got it all wrong to think that the outcome of the local government election in Rivers was an indication that the people of the state  had rejected him.

He said: “We never contested local government election. We didn’t pick forms. If you say for election we never contested that it shows Nigeria has rejected us, okay you that contested and failed woefully, Nigerians have rejected you, therefore park and go home”.

He said he has no regret for supporting Presiddent Tinubu.

His words: “ The Atiku group and Peter Obi group and some governors of PDP believe that I am a problem to them and I will continue to be a problem.

“Atiku group believe that I and my team stopped them from becoming President. We stopped injustice. What we wanted was equity, fairness and justice. Obi’s group believe they must fight us back. They are fighting themselves.

“They said if we don’t do anything now we will have a problem and they will have a problem. All these people combined will lose.  When you stand for the truth, the truth will always save you. They are standing by their personal interest. They will clash”.

On the leadership crisis in PDP, he said they all agreed that the acting national chairman,Umar Damagum should complete the tenure of the former chairman,Iyorchia  Ayu.

He said: “In PDP they said that the chairman  should go. I am not his friend. He never supported me. We agreed that Damagum should complete the tenure of Ayu. But let me tell you why you should be careful in trusting people.

“At  the meeting we agreed that we should go and seek interpretation of the PDP Constitution. The 2015 Constitution was not the same as 2017. There was a problem with the  2015 constitution. To cure the error, in 2017 we had an amendment of the Constitution when we now said that there should be two deputy chairmen where if the person who is  chairman from that zone has a problem the deputy chairman should be able to complete his tenure.

“We never zoned to North West, North East; we zoned North and south. Chairman  North, Secretary goes to South. When it is zoned to the north anybody who is a chairman should come from  the north.

“They made it look as if it is zoned to North central, North East and northwest. But we never did that. This problem came and we said it  is better we go to the court to seek interpretation of the party Constitution.

“Where the chairman  has a problem the deputy chairman  from that zone should complete his tenure. If you want the chairman, it should be from the National convention. When we kicked out Uche Secondus, the Southsouth did not produce the acting National Chairman.

Wike insisted that his team has the capacity in Rivers and would never be defeated

He said: “If you hate us it doesn’t matter. This Wike you don’t like will kill you. We are working as a team not as a party. We will decide where we will go. Anybody who doesn’t want Rivers to grow to hell with you.

“Their anger is that Wike is occupying an important position, if I don’t occupy it who will? We took a decision to support Asiwaju and we did. All these people flying to London and Turkey come out and tell us where you stand. I stood somewhere”.

Turning to the lawmakers, he asked the people to pray for them adding that the Supreme Court would decide the legislative shenanigans in Rivers.

He said: “Continue to pray for them. You went to court that they had defected, allow the court to decide it. They file appeals but they won’t pursue it. These matters must be followed to a logical conclusion. Let the Supreme Court come out and tell us in today democracy three people will stand and decide and appropriate state resources.”

Wike playing politics with the suffering of Nigerians

Atiku’s Media Office in a reaction to Wike’s latest attack on the former vice president  yesterday said the Port Harcourt remarks were another of his theatrical outbursts.

It said: “ Ordinarily, we would not respond, but we recognize that silence might be misinterpreted.

“However, we remain calm, knowing that Nigerians are well acquainted with his antics, a lingering symptom of the bitterness he harbours from his defeat to the Wazirin Adamawa at the 2022 party presidential primaries.

“Mr. Wike’s comments are nothing more than a string of inanities, lacking substance and driven by personal grievances. If he truly believes Nigerians are content with the current state of affairs under the government he serves, it reveals a deeper truth: his priorities lie not with the people but with himself. This self-absorption is evident in his preoccupation with domestic affairs in Rivers rather than his ministerial responsibilities.

“While he may seek to divert attention with his baseless rants, we remain focused on the genuine issues affecting Nigerians. It is clear that Mr. Wike is more concerned with self-interest than addressing the real challenges faced by the nation. In contrast, our commitment remains unwavering, centred on the welfare and progress of the people.

“Mr. Wike appears to delight in conjuring fantasies, indulging in his imagination, and paying for live TV coverage to launch tirades against whomever he pleases. However, we shall not descend into the gutters where he feels at home. Instead, we prefer to rise above, maintaining our dignity while others revel in the mud.”