Rivers guber race: The sins of Sim

…As sale of forms reveals that Rivers endless political crisis still boils but underneath

Each time Gov Sim Fubara makes any move that suggests he is eyeing second term, the crisis in the state wakes up immediately, and explosive talks begin. Now, the fireworks seem to be back. Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister and immediate past governor who said he singlehandedly made Fubara governor, is back on paid press briefing and wholesale television interviews where everything Fubara is subject matter.

The latest uproar could be because of strong indications that Gov Fubara picked a nomination for (or it was picked for him). This has been confirmed by Opunabo Inko-Tariah, a former Wike aide. It is no guess work that Fubara and Wike have been embroiled in a political tussle that was only recently resolved by President Bola Tinubu after a six-month emergency rule. Wike’s position has been that Fubara should just finish his term and go. Many say other causes of the clash including sharing formula (in FAAC and IGR), appointments of commissioners and others, etc, seem to have been abandoned to focus on ‘Operation Stop Sim’.

Inko-Tariah however insists that Fubara is definitely contesting. “He is. He has not said he’s not contesting. He did not reject the forms. He would have come out openly to say, I reject the form, I’m not contesting. But, he has not done so, and what does silence mean? Consent.

“So, it’s obvious that he’s contesting. But you see, the governor is not somebody that is garrulous. He keeps a lot to his chest. He believes in action than words. And I believe that at the appropriate time he is going to address a press conference because the primaries or whatever are just by the corner.

“I have a certain conviction even though I haven’t talked with him on that matter. I have a certain conviction that he’s contesting because he was not angry that the expression of interest forms were bought for him.”

Inko-Tariah said Fubara enjoys enormous support among Rivers people in spite of his tag of stinginess and that the governor would defeat anybody including Wike anyday in a free and fair election.

“In a free and fair election, the governor will win any candidate that is fielded. Any candidate. Even if Wike himself comes out to contest today against the governor, he’s going to lose. Fubara has the organic support needed to win. In fact, many people are angry with him that he doesn’t even spend money. So, the support he has is organic”.

He attributed this massive and organic support as reaction to Wike’s military-style leadership, as the people see the governor as a breath of fresh air.

Inko-Tariah predicted a peaceful election in Rivers State, but warned of crisis once Wike’s loyalists discovered that Fubara was coasting to victory during the election.

True to prediction, Wike has reacted by lambasting Fubara every day. He tells newsmen that buying form or seeking reelection was act of betrayal of an agreement reached with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Wike has thus come out smoking. He is said to have endorsed two persons to contest against Wike in both APC and PDP.

Political communication in Rivers State at the moment is by word of mouth, grapevine, and rumours. There is never any statement by either parties, and there is even no Commissioner of Information in Rivers State at the moment. In fact, the cabinet in Rivers State is incomplete as the House of Assembly angrily threw out some nominees submitted to it. Citizens depend on informal communications with all its refuses.

Aladare Kenneth, a political commentator, wrote that the Presidency was strongly behind Fubara and has allegedly sent strong signals to Wike.

Kenneth talked about fresh signals from the Presidency suggesting growing displeasure over recent political developments in Rivers State, particularly the renewed tension surrounding Gov Fubara and the activities of allies loyal to Wike and their attendant acts of insubordination towards the president.

He quoted unnamed sources within the Presidency about concerns that some recent moves by Wike’s political camp contradict President Tinubu’s repeated calls for peace, stability, and unity in Rivers State.

At the center of the controversy is the reported plan by Martin Amaewhule, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to reopen impeachment discussions against Gov Fubara once plenary resumes. The move is said to have intensified after reports emerged that Fubara had secured APC governorship nomination forms ahead of the 2027 elections.

He said Presidential insiders viewed any renewed impeachment attempt as unnecessary and potentially disruptive, especially after previous reconciliation efforts brokered by President Tinubu, which both camps publicly welcomed at the time.

Wike is however countering that Fubara was disrespecting President Tinubu by picking form.

Wike seemed to counter by allegedly pushing two arrows into the guber race: George Kelly, Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), who recently obtained APC governorship nomination forms, but critics say he was still occupying a federal appointment despite the President’s earlier directive requiring political appointees seeking elective office to resign before pursuing such ambitions.

Wike was also said to have pushed his most loyal kinsman, O.K Chindah of the House of Representatives to pick the form in the APC. Kenneth referred to sources that insist that any action capable of destabilizing Rivers State or undermining the authority of the President would not be taken lightly. Wike has however denied pushing Kelly to buy form while Chinda is said to have hurriedly resigned from the PDP while he had already picked APC form.

Chidozie Victor Anuebu, an analyst, who revealed that O. K. Chinda picked an APC form without first defecting to the APC, said following this revelation, Chinda has ‘secretly’ resigned from the PDP that morning. Chinda is Minority Leader in the House of Reps.

Many observers now say Fubara is rising from underdog status to a serious force. Kie Obomanu, a political analyst in the state, says the entry of Gov Hope Uzodinma of Imo State into the affairs of Rivers State has changed the balance of force. Uzodinma is chairman of the APC Governors Forum, the forum where important decisions in the APC are either taken or enforced. Obomanu says this is a man Wike has never been able to neutralize. “Uzodinma is a man who has been quietly working against Wike’s Rivers State agenda from the most powerful position available — the chairmanship of the Progressive Governors Forum.

“And now, following a directive that has sent shockwaves throughout the Rivers State political space, the man President Tinubu has handed the keys to the Rivers State APC screening process.