PORT Harcourt — THE political crisis in Rivers State took a dangerous turn, yesterday, as the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, downplayed reported threats by some Ijaw-linked militant groups to blow up crude oil pipelines and hold the nation to ransom, should Governor Siminalayi Fubara be impeached by the 27 members of the State Assembly loyal to him.
In fact, Wike said heaven would not fall, if the governor was impeached.
This was as the Martin Amaewhule-led Assembly, which shunned a reconciliation meeting called by the governor, barred Fubara from entering the Assembly complex to present the 2025 budget, alleging improper communication.
In a quick counter, Fubara said he was ready to re-present the budget, despite being locked out, insisting that he notified the House through Speaker Amaewhule.
Meanwhile, the Ijaw National Congress, INC, once again reiterated its earlier position that if Fubara (an Ijaw man) was impeached for any reason, the consequences will be too heavy for the country to bear economically.
Describing the lawmakers’ action as reckless, the INC said Wike cannot drag the Ikwerre and Ijaw Nations into a tribal war.
In like manner, the Pan Niger-Delta Elders Forum, PANDEF, described the legislators’ action as provocative and an insult to Rivers people; as oil communities warned the lawmakers against igniting fire in the Niger-Delta.
No ethnic group has monopoly of violence — Wike
While noting that no ethnic group had a monopoly of violence and that the state has the wherewithal to deal with criminal elements, Wike said the heavens will not fall if Fubara was impeached for constitutional infractions.
The minister spoke during a live interview with some television reporters, monitored in Abuja.
While he described PANDEF as the worst organization for anyone to rely on, the immediate past Rivers State governor also took a swipe at Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Muhammed, who he accused of using him to settle scores with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Monopoly of violence
Wike said every ethnic group in the Niger Delta had the capacity to do whatever others are doing, warning that no one should arrogate to himself the monopoly of violence.
He said: “Who has called for his impeachment? Who? If he has committed an infraction to be impeached, what is wrong? Is impeachment a criminal offence? Is it not provided for in the constitution? Am I a member of the Assembly?
‘’The point I am making is, if he has committed an infraction on the constitution and the Assembly deems it fit to say he should be impeached, then fine. Is he the first person that would be threatened with impeachment? Don’t you know what to do? What’s all this hullabaloo about impeachment?
Threat by Ijaws
“I have heard people say if they impeach him, there will be a breakdown of law and order. Rubbish. Tell me who are the militants? Who was born a militant? Tell me. Who is a militant? Who cannot blow the pipelines? Why do you arrogate this power to a certain group of people? ‘’Are Ijaw people the only ones who can blow up pipelines? What nonsense is that? Who told you that Ogoni, Ikwerre and others cannot blow up pipelines? Why do you arrogate powers to people?
‘’Who is the one doing the contract of the pipeline surveillance? Is he not an Ijaw son? Is it not Tompolo? Tantita? They gave you the contract. You are Ijaw and somebody will say Ijaw people will go and blow pipelines and somebody will listen to that?
‘’How dare you threaten a country? Which threat? It does not exist. These are political thugs planted by some people in government. We know ourselves. You make an appointment as MD of NDDC, they threaten that they will blow pipelines. You make an appointment, they threaten again to blow pipelines.
“I have told people, when the law speaks, all these ‘Asawana’ (an Ijaw spiritual chant) will die. Let me tell you, Ijaw does not constitute the majority of the Niger-Delta. People must speak the truth. Heavens will not fall. You only die once, not two times.
“What nonsense, everyday you wake up, Ijaw will do this, Ijaw will do that! In Akwa Ibom, Ijaw cannot be governor. In Delta, Ijaw is a minority. With all due respect to our late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, he is from Delta.
“He never produced an Ijaw man to be governor of Delta. The only place Ijaw can be governor solely, is in Bayelsa, not in Edo, not in Rivers. It was out of our own benevolence, the idea of live and let’s live, that I said, look, we are working as a team. We are members of the same political family. Let us allow this to go to this area.
‘’If it is by strength, they cannot beat the Ogonis, they cannot beat the Ekpeyes, and they cannot beat the Ikwerres.
“When people do something to bring people together, you appreciate it. In fact, when I brought this governor, they said’ no,’ that he is not a real Ijaw man.
‘’If you are talking about Ijaw, the ticket should go to the Kalabaris, how can you say if they want to give governorship to the Ijaw, that it should be the Opobos? And you closed your eyes and did it. All those who fought me are the ones now parading themselves and deceiving him.”
Useless letters
Wike also slammed Fubara for writing a “useless” letter to the Martins Amaewhule-led State Assembly, inviting them for a meeting at Government House in Port Harcourt and also informing them of his intention to re-present the state’s annual budget.
Describing Fubara as an insincere politician, the FCT minister, who was largely instrumental to making him governor, said having been at loggerheads with the lawmakers for a long time, Fubara ought to know what to do, rather than sending a subordinate to write them.
Wike, who wondered how three lawmakers would sit and make laws for a state, said: ‘’We are talking about the Supreme Court. Do we need to go to the Supreme Court? In your own conscience, are you telling me three members will constitute a parliament?”
Asked to explain what happened during his tenure when, at a point he worked with five lawmakers, the minister said: “That is not correct. You see, people should stop all these. Even when they say so, why not do your research? Remember, the assembly was inaugurated, remember there was a tribunal.
‘’The Court of Appeal nullified some seats. Before that time, the budget had been done. And then we did a rerun and the assembly was full. If anybody tells you that I, as governor, presented a budget to a number that is not what is required by the constitution, it is a blatant lie. Prove it. Prove with empirical evidence.
Faulting Fubara’s budget presentation move, Wike said: “You have had a frosty relationship with an arm of government. If you are a good politician, will you go and write letters?
“If you are a good politician, you have had a frosty relationship with me for many years. I have never sat down with you, I have never spoken with you, you seized my salary. They could not pay their children’s school fees. Now you went to the Court of Appeal. It didn’t even occur to you, even though I won at the Court of Appeal, I still want peace.
“The matter went to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court now gave it to me. Then the next thing you do is to write a letter and who signed the letter? A bloody SSG would sign a letter to the head of an arm of government? What an insult?
‘’You are telling me here that the SGF will sign a letter to the President of the Senate or to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and say Mr. President is coming to do so and so. Is that how it is done?
“First, assuming you want to go that route, you call the leadership and say, listen, this is where we are. I want to present this budget tomorrow. They will say okay, let’s look at it. You are not the one to tell them you are coming to present a budget tomorrow. Who does that? ‘’You want to play to the gallery. I have been in government, I don’t just write letters to Mr. Speaker to say I am coming to present a budget tomorrow morning. Are they your children? Do you know their engagements?
‘’If you are sincere, you will call first and say ‘Mr. Speaker, where are you? Are you home? Can we talk? Can you come? Or can I come?’ And they agree on something and then Mr. Speaker will go back and call his colleagues and say, listen, ‘Mr Governor called me and I met with him and he wants to present the budget on so, so date’.
‘’Then, they will look at their schedule and say okay, let us shift it or let us accommodate him on that day. That is how it is done.
“All these letters you (Fubara) are writing are useless. You are playing to the gallery. Everybody knows you are not sincere. A true politician will not behave that way. Let me tell you, Mr President was to present a budget to the National Assembly and the Assembly people were not happy for one thing or the other.
‘’We met at Exco and they said they had shifted it. Why? He had to meet with the leadership to agree on some grey areas. He didn’t need to write a letter. A man who does not want peace is the man who is playing to the gallery, saying I have written a letter, written letter to your son?
“The governor is not sincere. I never knew he is this kind of character. The Supreme Court said there is no way three members can sit and legislate for a state. You took your commissioners, Attorney-General for these three members to screen.
‘’The court said it is not possible and the Assembly people said submit the list of members of your cabinet, we are willing to screen them. Instead of us to applaud them, you are saying why should they give a time limit? When the Assembly asked him to submit a list, he now told his commissioners to go to court, after the Supreme Court had given judgment on this matter.”
PANDEF taking sides
Accusing PANDEF of taking sides in the matter, Wike said: “Yesterday (Tuesday), I heard that some people (PANDEF) went to see Mr. President. It is the worst organization anybody can rely on. I used to tell my father, daddy, I am disappointed in this.
‘’If you continue, I am not going to be a party to it. If you have a father who is always interested in money, he can sell his children.
“These leaders, look at the comments they made. Mr. President intervened in this matter. The vice president was there, the National Security Adviser was there. This same PANDEF came out and said Mr. President had no right.
‘’They took Mr. President to court. People like Chief Sara-Igbe, even Diette-Spiff who I respected, went to Rivers Government House. Look at the statement he made. ‘I am an Ijaw man. You are an Ijaw man. Call us, we will be with you.
‘’An elder-statesman will go and make such a statement. Now you are the same person coming again to meet Mr. President to intervene. Intervene how? The Mr. President you said had no right? Mr. President that you took to court that he had no power to intervene?
‘’They took Mr. President to court. From the state High Court in Rivers State, and at the Court of Appeal, they lost, up to the Supreme Court. Now you are going to tell the president to do what, that the Supreme Court judgment should not be obeyed?”
How Fubara emerged governor
Wike said but for the elderly counsel of Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, Fubara would not have been governor as consensus was already building in favour of having a governor of Ogoni extraction.
According to Wike, before the elections, the consensus was to have a governor of Ogoni extraction but Chief Alabraba begged that the ticket should be given to the Ijaw to give them a sense of belonging. He noted that today, Fubara has used all manner of degrading adjectives against the elder.
Wike also said Fubara couldn’t have shown up uninvited in the State House of Assembly Quarters after he demolished the complex in December 2023.
The governor, who addressed reporters at the quarters, had said he communicated his plan to be at the quarters to the speaker, Amaewhule.
Rivers State government also shared a letter notifying the House of the governor’s visit.
However, Wike said: “If you write a letter to the Assembly, won’t you wait for a response? He is playing to the gallery. He brought the Assembly Complex down. Assembly now sits in their residence. If you are coming, they have children; they will say the governor is coming today, so they have to prepare themselves.
“You cannot just go and open the gate and say ‘I’m coming to present budget.’”
On PDP crisis
On the state of affairs in the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Wike described the party’s National Working Committee NWC as “stupid”, accusing it of causing problems and blaming others.
“Congresses had been held. When you cause problems for yourself, you will go and call other people. Look at the stupid PDP NWC. You purportedly wrote a letter to INEC dated 20th, a Friday.
‘’Now, 21st was the day of the Congress. Then you submitted the letter on Monday when the Congresses had taken place. You are now telling INEC you have postponed a Congress that had taken place.
“Secondly, you go and say you are forming a caretaker committee. You are the one killing the party. For example, which senator in a meeting where governors are seated will oppose them?
‘’If you do something the right way and achieve results, who will challenge you? All (PDP) governors, let them challenge me, I will tell them one by one the role they are playing in the crisis in the party.”
Bauchi gov used us
“How did Bala Muhammed use us? Bala Muhammed was having problems with Atiku and others. He came to me. In fact, that day, I was going to commission the lounge at the airport. When he landed, I said there is no need to come to town since I am coming to the airport. “Bello Adoke, the former Attorney-General was there. Bala said Atiku will kill him if Atiku won, that we must support Asiwaju. I laughed. I said okay. We now organized G-5 to go and pay Bala a visit in Bauchi, not knowing he was using us to settle with Atiku.
‘’So, when we went there, he was happy. The next day, Tambuwal, Sule Lamido, all of them led a team to see Bala and Bala abandoned us, and now reconciled with Atiku,” he stated.
How 27 lawmakers barred Fubara from Assembly quarters
Governor Fubara was at the Assembly in the early hours of yesterday to implement one of the key decisions contained in the certified true copy, CTC, of the Supreme Court judgment, which is the presentation of the 2025 budget to a properly constituted state Assembly.
Some staff of the Assembly who spoke anonymously, said there was no formal communication that the governor was coming to the Assembly today (yesterday).
“I am not disposed to such information that the governor was billed in the Assembly today (yesterday). If there is such information, the speaker will inform us. For now, we are not aware of the governor’s visit to the Assembly,” the source said.
I’m ready to re-present budget, despite being locked out — Fubara
Meanwhile, Governor Fubara has expressed dissatisfaction over the action of the lawmakers denying him entry to the quarters.
He disclosed that he made several attempts including sending whatsapp messages to Ameuwhule to fix the visit to the assembly to no avail.
Addressing residents of Khana LGA of the state during the commissioning of some health facilities, shortly after the drama at the Assembly quarters, Fubara insisted he communicated his intention to visit the lawmakers to Speaker Amaewhule before he showed up at the quarters to re-represent the 2025 budget as directed by the Assembly, following the verdict of the Supreme Court on February 28, 2025.
“I still believe, maybe, they might be instructed later. If they are instructed, I’m still ready to come any day to get this particular issue sorted out,” he said.
If Fubara’s impeached, consequences will be heavy — INC
Reacting to the political development in the state yesterday, the President of INC, Professor Benjamin Okaba, said he was not surprised that the 27 lawmakers acted in that “shameful way”, saying they were neither interested in peace nor the overall interest of Rivers people. According to him, the lawmakers are there to serve the interest of their master, Nyesom Wike.
The INC president alleged that the lawmakers were loyal to Wike because the FCT minister “bought the forms that took them to the Assembly. They were handpicked by him. Wike said so publicly. That is why I am not surprised by the way they act.”
“Some people said Sim is very weak. He promised Mr. President that he would implement the judgment, why then should the lawmakers block him from entering the Assembly complex?
“These same lawmakers gave the governor 48 hours and then 72 hours ultimatums to present the budget. They issued another ultimatum to the governor to sack the 19 commissioners. If he sacks the commissioners, including commissioner for finance, who will then prepare the budget?
“By their actions, they have shown the world how wicked they are. If they go ahead and impeach Sim Fubara maliciously, forcibly or recklessly, we will resist it and the consequences of such action will be too heavy for the whole country to bear. This is no threat,’’ Okaba warned.
‘’Wike cannot provoke us into ethnic war. The Ikwerre people had apologized to the Ijaw people over the attitude of Wike against Sim.”
Don’t ignite fire in Niger Delta, oil communities warn lawmakers
Similarly, oil and gas producing communities of Niger Delta have warned the 27 River lawmakers to restrain from actions that may spark fire capable of affecting crude oil production in the region.
Chairman, board of trustees, BoT, of the communities of oil and gas producing areas of the Niger Delta, CDC, Joseph Ambakaderimo, said, “This must be called into question because this action in itself is an affront on the Supreme Court judgment. These men call themselves lawmakers. They should always live by example.”
Action insult to Rivers people, says PANDEF
In like manner, PANDEF described the lawmakers’ action as “provocative.”
A chieftain of PANDEF, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, told Vanguard on telephone that denying the governor access to the Assembly complex was not an insult to Siminalayi Fubara as a person, but the people of Rivers State in general.
“The governor was elected by millions of Rivers people. As the chief executive officer of the state, he has unhindered access to all the facilities within the state. Blocking him from entering the complex is a direct insult and an embarrassment to the people of Rivers State.
“It is now very clear that the governor is ready for peace but these people are not ready for peace. You can see that by their actions.
