According to Minister of Information and National Orientation Idris Malagi, the Federal Government did not choreograph the political crisis in Rivers State.
The minister said during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday that the state’s predicament was not orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, despite the fact that some of the crisis’ players are members of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.
He clarified, “The fact that it is occurring in Rivers does not imply that the political crisis is being directed by the federal government.”
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The minister said, “I have not found evidence to suggest that the Federal Government is orchestrating the crisis in Rivers State,” but it is “easy to speculate because some of the actors are people who associate with the government at the centre.”
Malagi claimed that even among party members, the president had stepped in to mediate political issues in other states, including as Ondo.
This image shows the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex being demolished by bulldozers (L); on December 13, 2023, Governor Siminalayi Fubara (R) presented the N800 billion 2024 budget projections to the Assembly’s Edison Ehie-led group at the Government House.
A Series Of Enigmas
APC-controlled Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party but currently serves as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had a falling out that led to the crisis in the 32-member Rivers State House of Assembly.
Amid heavy security, the governor dismantled the Assembly Complex on Wednesday, roughly two months after a fire completely destroyed the building.
According to the state authorities, the structure was no longer suitable.
On December 13, 2023, the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex is demolished by bulldozers.
The Edison Ehie-led delegation was later given the N800 billion 2024 budget projections by the governor at Government House. While Martins Amaewhule was prohibited from using the Assembly facility, Ehie was acknowledged by the court.
In addition, Ehie announced that 27 PDP members had switched to the APC, leaving their seats empty. The 27 members were purportedly devoted to Amaewhule, a supporter of Wike, the outgoing state governor.
Ehie was ousted as House leader in October after Fubara received an impeachment notice from the Assembly led by Amaewhule. But several Fubara-supporting Assembly members promptly deposed Amaewhule and installed Ehie as Speaker.
Father-Son Relationships Turned Sassy: Like and Siminalayi
Siminalayi Fubara (R) and Nyesom Wike (L) in a photo together Wike had expressed his displeasure with Fubara, claiming that the latter had mingled with some of his political rivals after taking office. According to the FCT minister, the governor is a smug person who wants to take over the state’s “political structure.”
The former governor also made the accusation that his successor had set fire to the state Assembly building in order to stop him from being impeached, a claim the governor refuted.
Wike would remain Fubara’s principal, he added, but he had apologised.
The political unrest in the oil-rich South-South state continued despite the intervention of PDP governors and President Bola Tinubu.
Chief Edwin Clark, an ageing statesman, has once again urged the President to summon Wike to order on the political climate in Rivers State.
There will be pandemonium in the nation if all past governors insist on controlling their successors, according to Clark, the nonagenarian head of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), who accused Wike of godfatherism.
