Reps member describes Wike as ‘our almighty’ amid Rivers crises

A House of Representatives member from Akwa Ibom State, Clement Jimbo, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as ‘our almighty’.

Mr Jimbo was congratulating some politicians, including Mr Wike, in a post on his Facebook page on Saturday night.

The FCT minister and others were recipients of honourary degrees from the University of Calabar on Saturday.

Mr Jimbo, a member of the APC, represents Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency in the lower legislative chambers.

“Congratulations to Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs Ekaette Unoma Godswill Akpabio, Dr. Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, Mrs Theresa Effiong and our almighty Dr. Barr, HM Ezenwo Nyesom Wike,” he wrote.

The word ‘almighty’ means “having absolute power over all or having great power or importance,” according to Merriam-webster Online Dictionary.

God is often referred to as the, ‘Almighty’ across many religions, especially in Christianity.

‘Why I described Wike as ‘almighty’’

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the federal lawmaker on Tuesday and asked why he described the FCT minister as ‘almighty.’

“Almighty is an English word. And it is not only attributed to the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God. So, it’s an adjective,” he responded.

Mr Jimbo, who uploaded photographs of Mr Wike and other awardees, said his description of Mr Wike as almighty does not “connote anything” but only reflected his state of his mind as of the time.

The lawmaker added that the description also stemmed from Mr Wike’s transformational leadership and accomplishments since assumption of office as the minister of the FCT.

When pressed further, the politician said what actually made him describe Mr Wike as almighty was because of the loud cheers and applause that erupted from the crowd during his citation.

“And to make matters worse, the camera man zoomed into him (Wike) and he was projected and the man was beaming with smiles based on the kind of words used by the person reading his citation.

“The adjectives used to describe Wike, I think his own stood out. So when I was making that (Facebook) post, that was what reflected in my mind that I had to use that particular adjective, ‘almighty Wike,’”he said.

Mr Jimbo explained that he intentionally wrote the “almighty” in small letters to indicate that a human being, not God, was being referred to in the post.

Rivers crises

The description of Mr Wike as “almighty” came in the wake of the political crisis triggered by the feud between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the FCT minister.

The protracted feud caused President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State last week Tuesday.

Mr Tinubu also suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all the House of Assembly members for an initial six months.

The president consequently appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator of the state.