Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says no decision on the recent LG election was taken without the input of Siminalayi Fubara’s, the Rivers state governor, during the emergency rule.
The FCT minister and former Rivers governor spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted the polls under the supervision of Ibok-Ete Ibas, the sole administrator of the state appointed by President Bola Tinubu to govern the state during the emergency rule.
However, Fubara and his supporters stayed away from the LG elections conducted on August 30.
Reacting to the governor’s absence during the polls, Wike said he personally went to Fubara’s residence to discuss the LG election in the state.
According to him, Fubara had informed him earlier that he would not be available on election day because of a family commitment.
“This is what Nigerians should know: the governor wanted to come and see me. I said, ‘No, you’re the governor.’ I drove to the governor’s house by 1 am,” Wike said.
“I, the former governor of Rivers state, drove to the governor’s house at 1 am. I said, ‘Your Excellency, what do we do?’ There’s nothing that was done that the governor wasn’t part of.”
He added that Fubara travelled out of the state before the election.
“Even before the election, the governor travelled. He told me he will not be around because his son has this engagement,” Wike said.
The FCT minister accused critics of making false claims about the Rivers political crisis.
“People just sit somewhere and begin to talk about all kinds of things they don’t even know,” he said.
“All they were expecting is, ‘Oh, they’ve not settled.’ Unfortunately, where people will be collecting money is no longer there.”
The polls were largely won by the All Progressives Congress (APC), with Fubara, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), losing in his own LGA.
