Rivers Crisis: APC, RRM fault Asari-Dokubo’s claim of funding Tinubu’s campaign

• Accuse former militant leader of spreading lies

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the claim by a former Niger Delta militant leader, Majahid Asari Dokubo, that he funded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s electioneering campaign with billions of naira.

This came as the Rivers Restoration Movement (RRM) has accused Dokubo of spreading misinformation about President Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The caretaker chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the APC, Chief Tony Okocha, at a press conference in Abuja, described Dokubo as a liar from the pit of hell.

Okocha referred to the defeat of the APC by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Dokubo’s polling unit to buttress his position.

He said: “Somebody in Rivers State has said on television that he spent billions of naira in support of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am here to say that it is not only false but it’s a lie from the pit of hell. There was nothing like that.

“I was in charge of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers State. I was in charge of election planning; the person that said he contributed billions, in his polling unit, APC scored 9, the PDP scored 12. So, when and how did he deliver Tinubu? He didn’t put a kobo; if he put a kobo I would know because I was in charge. I know who put money into the coffers that delivered President Tinubu in Rivers State. Except if he gave the money to somebody else but it didn’t translate to any result because APC lost in his polling unit.”

He frowned at those whipping up sentiments and blackmail against President Tinubu, Wike and the judiciary over the recent judgment stopping statutory allocation to the state.

He insisted that Governor Siminalayi Fubara should be solely held responsible for the unfortunate development because of his refusal to adhere to the rule of law and the peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu as a means of resolving the impasse in the state.

Okocha said there is no way Fubara’s machinations would overwhelm Wike, who is bent on ensuring due process and good governance in Rivers State.

He noted that Fubara has been running the state without an approved budget, which is against the law, adding that those playing up unnecessary sentiments failed to see the illegality going on under the governor.

“Wike brought Fubara to where he is today. He lifted him from obscurity to political crescendo. Nobody is suffocating anybody. The fight in Rivers State is between Sim Fubara and Sim Fubara,” he added.

Also reacting to Dokubo’s claims, Director General of RRM, Johnson Georgewill, stated that he lacks the right to speak for the Ijaws.
Georgewill emphasised that 90 per cent of Ijaw leaders who supported President Tinubu and Governor Siminalayi Fubara in 2023 are now standing firm with Wike.

This allegiance, he stated, is evident in the fact that 90 per cent of Rivers State Assembly members from the Ijaw extraction are with the Minister.
Georgewill also questioned Dokubo’s claim of spending $2 million to support President Tinubu, pointing out that Dokubo failed to deliver Tinubu in his unit and did not support Fubara’s governorship bid in 2023.

The RRM reiterated that the victory of President Tinubu and Fubara in Rivers State was solely due to Wike’s efforts and his political family, with divine intervention.

Georgewill stressed that threats and blackmail have no place in Nigeria’s democracy, as it is guided by laws and the constitution.
He further asserted that Dokubo lacks the political structure or clout to deliver any candidate for elective positions in 2027.
He urged the public to disregard Dokubo’s claims of failing any candidate in upcoming elections.

He added: “Finally, RRM wants to state that it’s crystal clear that Alhaji Asari Dokubo can’t speak for the Ijaws when it comes to where and who they will support in 2027. He also does not have the political structure or might to deliver any candidate for elective positions. So, calls of failing any candidate in 2027 should be ignored.

“The Ijaws will forever be grateful to Mr President and the Minister of the FCT for what they have done to the Ijaws especially the assistance to ensure an Ijaw man becomes Governor of Rivers State after 24 years of this democratic dispensation.

“As a people that are grateful, we appeal to all political leaders in Rivers State, irrespective of political party, for the sake of equity, fairness and justice, to look inwards and ensure a grateful Ijaw man is allowed to complete the tenure of the Ijaws as governor because the Ijaws have supported other ethnic groups to lead for two tenures.”