The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, has made further steps to consolidate his control of the political structure in Rivers State, with the flag off of campaigns for local elections in the state.
The election is scheduled for 30 August.
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At the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign launch held in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the minister’s loyalists, including the chairperson of the party in the state, Aeron Chukwuemeke, and the suspended Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, lavished praises on Mr Wike, a former governor of the state.
“Let me use this opportunity to thank our leader, Mr Wike, who has made this flag off today a success,” Mr Chukwuemeka said, while declaring open the event.
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“Very importantly, we say thank you to our political leader, our father, Mr Wike, for the leadership he has provided for the PDP and the state,” Mr Amaewhule, flanked by the 26 other lawmakers, loyal to the minister, said.
The suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his loyalists were not featured at the event, except for a backdrop that carried Mr Fubara’s picture.
Mr Wike controls the PDP structure and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the oil-rich state. The APC chairperson in Rivers, Tony Okocha, is his ally.
Wike, Fubara’s political, legal battle
Mr Wike helped Mr Fubara to become the governor of the state in 2023, but both politicians fell out less than five months after.
The political feud split the legislature into two factions – 27 lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike, leaving four in Mr Fubara’s camp.
The political crisis had defied presidential interventions, while both factions battled in the court over the legality of the pro-Wike lawmakers after they defected to the APC.
Amid the crisis, Mr Fubara defied all odds and conducted local elections, taking over the control of the political structure at the grassroots after his allies were elected as councillors and chairpersons of the 23 local councils in the state.
However, the Supreme Court invalidated the elections, restored the pro-Wike lawmakers as legitimate lawmakers, invalidated the appropriation bill passed by Mr Fubara-backed lawmakers, and stopped the federal government from releasing allocation to the state pending when Mr Fubara would present a budget to the legitimate assembly.
Upon resuming legislative business after their restoration, the lawmakers served impeachment notice on Mr Fubara and declined the governor’s request to present the 2025 budget.
In the wake of the crisis, an explosion blew up an oil pipeline in the state.
Citing the pipeline explosion and the prolonged Fubara-Wike feud, President Bola Tinubu in March declared a state of emergency in the state, suspending Mr Fubara and the state legislature for an initial period of six months.
The president appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice admiral and former chief of naval staff, as the sole administrator in the state, a move that triggered widespread criticisms from the public, including the Nigerian Bar Association.
Upon assuming office, Mr Ibas dissolved boards, commissions, and parastatals constituted by Mr Fubara and reconstituted a new one. The newly reconstituted Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, which was inaugurated last month, fixed 30 August, less than two months’ interval for the local election.
Some persons in the state, displeased by the election schedule, have filed a suit, asking the court to determine if local elections can be conducted under emergency rule.
Despite protests from several quarters against the election, the electoral commission has proceeded with the elections, with parties conducting primaries where councillors and chairmanship candidates were elected.
With the conduct of the election under the emergency rule, and with Mr Wike’s allies, who this newspaper gathered, emerged as candidates of both the PDP and APC for the election, it is glaring that Mr Wike has regained control of the political structure in the state.
PREMIUM TIMES understands that Messrs Fubara and Wike have settled their political feud, but it is not clear if the suspended governor’s interest would be protected in the new political development in the state.
