Ijaw National Congress (INC) has described President Bola Tinubu’s pledge to maintain neutrality in the political crisis rocking Rivers State as a welcome development, saying such would liberate the state and usher in the much-desired peace and progress to the oil-rich State.
Recall that President Tinubu, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, during a live programme at the weekend told Nigerians that the presidency would not back any party in the struggle or tolerate any attempt to frustrate the state government.
Reacting to the President’s assurance yesterday, INC’s National Publicity Secretary, Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, regretted that the raging crisis has drastically affected all facets of the economy, adding that the tension was increasing daily.
He said: “We are aware that the President had intervened earlier, and Governor Siminalayi Fubara complied with almost 90 per cent, but a situation where Local Government Chairmen, State Assembly and even some cabinet members want to control the governor is sad and unacceptable.
“In as much as we know that the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, played some role in bringing the man on board, it doesn’t call for enslavement. Even the FCT Minister was helped by people to grow politically. Have those people who helped him called for his head or enslaved him?”
The spokesman described the office of the governor as a ‘stage’ where one leaves after performing his task, urging the minister to concentrate on his primary assignment in Abuja and leave the governor alone to carry out his duties in Rivers State.
He added: “The President has been neutral on this matter from the beginning, it is just the minister and his followers that are making it look as if the President is supporting them.”
He urged Tinubu to caution the FCT minister, warning that the crisis might degenerate into an uncontrollable point if not checked.
The INC spokesman also advised Wike to stop arrogating powers to himself by claiming he brought Fubara to office as governor. He continued: “The office of the Governor is not an appointee one, people elected him and vote counted, so for Wike to continue to boast that he made Fubara Governor is an indictment to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) that, there was no vote in Rivers State.
“Wike may have brought him as the candidate but the people voted for him and you can’t say because you played a role in his emergence as a candidate, therefore, he becomes your slave and the whole state becomes your slave, it’s not done.”
Oyakemeagbegha explained the situation is not an ethnic matter, criticising people who are factoring ethnicity into the Rivers crisis. He went on: “This is not an ethnic matter as many have alleged, it is purely the issue of giving room for effective governance in the state.”
Meanwhile, some allies of the FCT minister, who recently resigned from Fubara’s cabinet, insisted that they were starved of funds for their offices.
Former Commissioner for Works, George Kelly, said he resigned because his office was not funded and was operating without any approved appropriation bill.
This is as an ex-Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Leyii Kwane, commended Governor Fubara for taking a crucial step towards restoring stability in the state’s governance by approving the screening of Dagogo Israel Iboroma as commissioner-designate and member of the state executive Council.
Kwane said the move demonstrates the governor’s commitment to upholding the principles of democracy and ensuring the effective functioning of the state government.
He urged him to sustain the momentum by sending more nominees to fill the remaining vacant commissioner positions. Kwane, who lamented that the current political crisis in the state has adversely affected governance, said swift action needed to be taken to address the situation by filling critical positions which will enable the wheel of governance to move forward and provide much-needed services and support to Rivers people.
He called on INEC to conduct elections immediately to fill the vacant positions in the state legislature, occasioned by the defection of 27 members, as provided by law. This, he said, would ensure that the state’s governance is truly representative of the people’s will.
