Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has blamed Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s failed bid for a second term on what he described as poor political decisions and misleading advice from close associates and external interests during the Rivers State political crisis.
Speaking during the August edition of his monthly media chat aired on Channels Television on Tuesday, Wike said he repeatedly warned Fubara against abandoning the political structure that produced him as governor, but his advice was ignored.
“I said, look, don’t derail. I came as governor, I had crisis. When I came as governor, there was nothing. They didn’t even relocate the Government House,” Wike said.
The former Rivers governor recalled inheriting an administration with little infrastructure, revealing that he had to borrow ceremonial vehicles from former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko before gradually rebuilding the Government House and providing official vehicles for the governor, deputy governor and the governor’s wife.
According to him, he expected Fubara to consolidate on that foundation rather than dismantle it.
“Somebody had laid a foundation. Look, this is where I stopped. If you continue this way, our dream is to be able to compete with Lagos. What is wrong with that?” he asked.
Wike alleged that individuals who initially opposed Fubara’s emergence as governor later became his closest advisers and encouraged him to challenge those who supported his emergence.
“Those who didn’t want you to be governor now became your friends. Obviously, they will destroy you, thinking that coming closer to you is to fight us.
“At the end of the fight, I have not lost anything. What have I lost? Nothing. But you have lost. Your intention was to go for a second term, is it not correct? And you are not going,” he said.
Asked whether he still cared about Fubara despite their political differences, Wike replied, “If I don’t love him, why would we support him?”
He disclosed that attempts were made to reconcile both camps but claimed political calculations and the interests of powerful individuals prevented a lasting settlement.
The FCT minister also accused unnamed external forces of trying to hijack Rivers State for financial gain, alleging that some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) misled Fubara into confronting his political benefactors.
“There are external forces who want to hijack Rivers State. There are those who see Rivers State as a cash cow,” Wike alleged.
He further claimed that some of Fubara’s advisers encouraged the governor to resist his political camp while enjoying privileges provided by those backing the crisis.
The rift between Wike and Fubara began shortly after the governor assumed office in 2023, escalating into a prolonged political crisis that culminated in President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State in March 2025.
Although Fubara later returned to Wike’s political camp and eventually withdrew from the 2026 APC governorship primaries, Wike maintained that the governor’s second-term ambition was ultimately derailed by the choices he made during the crisis.
