Victor Ezeja
As the crisis between incumbent governor of Rivers State and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike Continues to Fester, an analyst has stated that it is not a smart move for Wike to be in disagreement with Fubara, who was the state’s accountant general during his tenure.
In the latest development in the crisis between the two political gladiators in Rivers, Governor Fubara during the swearing in of the state’s attorney general on Monday hinted that a panel of enquiry will be set up to probe past governance in the state. This has generated another round of reactions as people in different quarters say it is targeted at probing Wike’s time in office which he was part of. Subsequently, Fubara while commissioning a 10.98km Aleto-Ogale-Ebubu-Eteo road on Tuesday claimed that many projects done and commissioned by Wike’s administration were not fully paid for leaving his administration to grapple with debt burden as the contractors are now demanding the balance of payment.
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Professor Okey Ikechukwu, a political analyst and executive director of Development Specs Academy, said Wike shouldn’t have elected to fight his successor who was in charge of his finances as an accountant general.
“I thought the disagreement was not a very smart thing one the part of the former governor because you are taking up a man who was in charge of your finances, who knew where all the bones were buried. He was the accountant general of the state and you had previously informed Nigerians in a feat of rage how you were the one who bought forms for all those who contested. Even that one alone will make someone to ask: ‘where did you get all these money from? and among other things,” Prof. Ikechukwu, who appeared on Arise New TV’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, stated.
Prof. Ikechukwu argued that in the lingering feud, Wike stands at a disadvantage position. He asserted that Fubara being the governor has more weapons in his political armory to take on Wike, who being a minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is limited in terms of his spending profile and capacity for discretion, as he is under the presidency and far away from Rivers State.
The political analyst further claimed that Wike has a higher level of political dependence and has limited supply of funds than Fubara that he is fighting against. He said the presidency might after sometime advise Wike to sheathe his sword and focus on his work as FCT minister instead of engaging in endless battle that earns it no political gain.
Ikechukwu said he knew from the onset that the agreement between Wike and Fubara that was reached when both had a meeting with President Tinubu in Abuja wasn’t going to fly. According to him, the document was “painfully scandalous and didn’t have the integrity as an attempt to resolve the serious issues” that led to the crisis.
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He said the best way to resolve the crisis is to find a political solution that gives soft landing to both Wike and Fubara and ensure that the best interest of the people of Rivers State is served.
On the fate of the State assembly members who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the analyst said they, according to provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, lost their seats and subsequently lost the chance of regaining them, through a political solution offered in the agreement, by the trouble they created thereafter.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
