Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCT, has hit hard on Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State after the latter was “denied access” to the Rivers Assembly Quarters in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Mr Fubara said he was at the quarters to present the 2025 Rivers budget to the Martins Amaewhule-led assembly, as the Supreme Court recently ordered.
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“Before my arrival here, I made several attempts to speak to the speaker. I also sent a letter which was transmitted for this particular invitation.
“Unfortunately, at the gate, you can see that the place is completely sealed, and there is no sign that anything is going to happen today,” Mr Fubara told reporters while standing outside the gate.
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He accused the speaker of deliberately avoiding him.
It is unclear if the lawmakers were inside the quarters when the governor visited.
The Speaker, Mr Amaewhule, and 26 other lawmakers are loyal to Mr Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers. He has been engaged in a protracted political and legal battle with his successor, Mr Fubara, for control of the state’s political structure.
The state’s legislature was initially split into two factions, with Mr Fubara recognising a three-member faction that was loyal to him, until the Supreme Court’s judgement tipped the balance of power in favour of Mr Wike and his allies.
The court restored Mr Amaewhule’s position as the speaker, reinstated the others as legitimate members of the assembly, and nullified the local election organised by Mr Fubara’s administration.
Mr Fubara has vowed to implement the order of the Supreme Court even though he expressed misgivings about it.
Fubara’s letters, Wike’s outburst
In a letter dated 11 March and addressed to the speaker, Mr Amaewhule, Governor Fubara informed the assembly that he would come to their chambers to present the Rivers 2025 budget for their consideration and approval.
A copy of the letter has been circulating on social media.
Before then, the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo, wrote the lawmakers, inviting them to a meeting with Mr Fubara to discuss a befitting space for the assembly’s sittings, payment of outstanding remuneration and allowances for the lawmakers, and budget presentation. The lawmakers declined the invitation.
READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: Governor Fubara speaks on implementation of Supreme Court judgment
“You have had a frosty relationship with an arm of government. If you are a good politician, will you go and write a letter? Is it by writing a letter signed by the SSG? What an insult! Is it how it is done? If you are a politician, you know what to do,” Mr Wike told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, attacking the governor.
“You want to play to the gallery which is rubbish. All these letters are useless, you are not sincere, you are playing to the gallery,” he said.
The minister said the governor would have done better and shown the lawmakers some respect by calling the speaker on the phone to agree on a convenient date to meet.
Meanwhile, Governor Fubara has said he is willing to return to the assembly and present the budget.
“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,” Channels TV quoted Mr Fubara as saying.
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