For reasons best known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he has refused to rein in the cantankerous former governor of Rivers State and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike. There is no way Wike’s unbecoming disposition and public conduct can help the fortune of the president come next year’s general election.
If he enjoyed some goodwill as Governor, he has squandered them in less than three years of leaving office, no thanks to a mix of garrulous and combustible personae that now defines his politics.
After his provocative and condemnable so-called thank-you visits to local governments in Rivers and, in the process, abandoning his duty post at the FCT, his lackeys in the state house of Assembly are also seeing to it that Governor Siminalayi Fubara does not enjoy any reprieve of any sort.
Truth be told, that there is peace in the state today is owing essentially to the maturity or is it timidity, of Governor Fubara than the empty boast and public display of immaturity or unruly conducts of Wike in the name of being a strong man. Wike as governor would not have allowed anybody such leeway in the name of a thank-you visit.
The only reason Wike visited Rivers was to serve as a show of strength to the President that he is still the go-to man in Rivers if the president must win the state in 2027.
The worst thing that can happen to any man is not to be able to tell when the party is over. For Wike in Rivers, the party is over.
Fubara is now in the ruling party (APC) and Wike is not. In fact Wike as it stands does not belong to any political party.
Therefore, to achieve his strange ambition of not belonging to either PDP or APC but still being in control of Rivers state, he now proposes a Rivers that also does belong to any party but will all work to see the reelection of Tinubu.
Sadly, he simply does not understand the dynamics of the nation’s political terrain he pretends to be a master of.
As things stand now, Tinubu has found a new bride in Fubara and that is the surest way for the president to enjoy the same services which Wike provided in 2023.
Tinubu was never in love with him then, he only required his services for which he was rewarded with the job of the FCT, now it’s game over, at least in Rivers, he might still be useful in the FCT.
In politics, it’s only a marriage of convenience. Everyone is expendable in politics. Realising that with Fubara still sitting as governor and now being as well in APC, his hold on the state might be weakening, Wike is now pushing for Fubara and his deputy’s impeachment so the coast will now be clear for a more amenable speaker, Martin Amaewhule, to become governor.
On 8 January, Rivers House of Assembly began, for the third time since 2023, impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his Deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, over alleged gross misconduct.
The impeachment move is coming after Wike accused the governor of reneging on the terms of a peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu in June last year.
Just when it appeared like the bid was beginning to lose steam with four lawmakers’ withdrawal, on 16 January, the lawmakers announced that the impeachment process would proceed as planned. The four lawmakers who earlier withdrew their support for the impeachment move have again declared their support for it.
The Assembly passed a resolution last Friday asking the Chief Judge of the state, Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, to set up a panel to investigate the gross misconduct allegations against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Odu.
Impeaching a state governor in Nigeria is a constitutional process designed to uphold accountability while preventing arbitrary removal.
According to Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution, the process begins when at least one-third of the State House of Assembly members sign a notice of allegation, which is then presented to the Speaker and served to the governor.
The governor has the right to respond, after which the House votes on whether to proceed.
A two-thirds majority is required to advance the case.
If approved, the Chief Judge appoints a seven-member panel of individuals to investigate. If the panel finds the allegations unproven, the process ends.
If the charges hold, the Assembly votes again. A two-thirds majority vote results in the governor’s removal.
It is however, undeniable that this recent push by those loyal to Wike is as a result of Governor Fubara’s defection to the APC which seems to have altered the political dynamics in the State and has weakened the influence of the camp loyal to Wike.
Similarly, Fubara since joining the APC has been accepted by APC governors and other party bigwigs who can no longer live with Wike’s overreaching nature.
Recall that, Wike had publicly warned the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru and others, to steer clear of Rivers State politics.
He also alleged that these political actors only want to take advantage of the N600 billion reportedly left in the state’s coffers.
Wike’s outburst was as a result of Basiru’s comments where he advised the APC Vice Chairman (South-South), Victor Giadom, against disrespecting the governor. Giadom had referred to Governor Siminalayi Fubara as “the so-called Governor” during Wike’s earlier visit to Khana and Gokana Local Government Areas.
Giadom was also quoted as saying that Fubara could not secure a second term in office without going through Wike.
Basiru described the comments as unfortunate, insisting that the office of the governor deserved respect regardless of political differences.
Basiru had said, “I find it unfortunate that a member of the NWC was referring to a governor in our party as a ‘so-called governor of Rivers State’.
“The office of the governor is an exalted position, and whoever is occupying it must be respected, irrespective of whatever political differences you have.”
Wike not satisfied with that brilliant counsel, then warned the national secretary to desist from meddling in Rivers State politics, declaring the state a “no-go area” for political interference.
He cautioned that those who failed to heed the warning could face serious consequences, urging Basiru to learn from the experiences of others who had attempted similar actions in the past.
“He even accused some senior leaders and the Tinubu administration of going to Rivers State to literally accept, take money or bribes, also from the Rivers State government.
Wike believes he owns Rivers, he can tell who can or cannot visit Rivers just like he had insisted that Fubara inherited his enemies. He is the ultimate godfather, he alone can determine the fate of Rivers.
So, first step for him now is to successfully replace the governor with the speaker and whip all the adults of voting age to queue behind him as he delivers Rivers to his benefactor come 2027.
All hail the unassailable king of Rivers politics.
