Fubara is stable, there’s high military presence in Rivers

PT: Where’s Governor Fubara and his family right now?

JOHNSON: I left the governor at about 2 a.m. today (Wednesday, 19 March). He was still in the Government House.

PT: What is the mood inside the Government House like?

JOHNSON: Well, the military presence is high. The SSS and the police have taken full dominance of activities there. We were allowed to go in there early this morning after a thorough screening. Because I was still doing a few things for the governor, so I was moving in and out. People were not molested.

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PT: How about Port Harcourt? What’s the mood in the city?

JOHNSON: Well, there’s silence of the graveyard. Rivers people are going about their various businesses. There’s nothing pointing to any action that may cause any breach.

PT: Yeah, but we just learnt about a fire incident at Port Harcourt Refinery. How true is this?

JOHNSON: No, it’s not true. I spoke with my cousin, who is at the refinery, and he said nothing like that happened.

PT: Has the new administrator arrived at the Government House?

JOHNSON: No, he has not. You know that the matter is before the National Assembly. I want to believe that he’ll be waiting for the National Assembly to give the nod before he’ll take his oath of office, and then he’ll proceed to assume his assignment.

PT: How’s Governor Fubara’s mood right now?

JOHNSON: He is very stable. I want to think that as a man, he would have accepted it the way it has come.

PT: President Tinubu said when the militants threatened to blow up oil pipelines, Governor Fubara did not disown them. How true is this?

JOHNSON: Last of what I heard about the Trans-Niger pipeline was yesterday morning, and after that we had another one in one of the local government areas in Rivers State. I want to believe that the governor would have put in certain measures with the security chiefs; it’s not that he would come on a broadcast station and begin to announce what we have done, but I am sure some measures were put (in place) to forestall further destructions.

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For anyone to allude to that as the reason for the state of emergency is like trying to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The governor is taking in the situation. I don’t think there is anything to bother with. As of now, the governor does not have any power to do anything. We are waiting for the new administrator when he comes, life must move on.

PT: What’s the lesson for everyone in this whole thing?

JOHNSON: Well, it’s an action we never expected because the indices that should have taken us into a state of emergency were not there. In the ding-dong, we were fulfilling the Supreme Court judgement when this hammer came, and as a government we have no choice but to allow the will of God to prevail in this matter.