The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom WIke, has accused his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, of dabbling in his family affairs.
Wike said this during a media chat on Wednesday in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists on his relationship with Fubara.
He implied that Fubara’s actions have intruded into matters he considers part of his family legacy.
The FCT Minister said, “The governor was misled, three weeks to supreme court judgement. Do you know what he did in my own family? In my community, the governor came and removed my Chief and made another person chief in my own family. The point I’m making is that he was given the hope that he would win the Supreme Court.
“Have we played politics to the point you penetrate someone’s family? To dabble into internal affair of a family.”
Wike also condemned the decision to suspend the salaries, allowances, and entitlements of certain members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which he deems both politically and personally unacceptable amid the ongoing political crisis in the state.
According to him, the governor was misled into fighting with the 27 lawmakers who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the peak of his face-off with the state assembly.
He also condemned Fubara for writing to the Rivers State House of Assembly through his Secretary to the State Government.
Wike said instead of inviting the lawmakers through a public letter, Fubara should have called the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, and his team via the phone and agreed on a date and time for a meeting.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled on the case involving the allocation of revenue to Rivers State, dismissing Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s appeal against the decision mandating him to re-present the 2024 state budget before the Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly.
In a unanimous verdict delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court restored a previous Federal High Court ruling that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) from releasing funds to the Rivers State Government.
The judgment recognised the Amaewhule-led state assembly as legitimate, faulting the passage of the state budget by four lawmakers loyal to Governor Fubara as unconstitutional and void.
Following the ruling, reports emerged suggesting that the Supreme Court had also determined the legitimacy of the 27 lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the APC.
However, Governor Fubara dismissed the claims and clarified that the matter of defection was still pending before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt and was never before the Supreme Court for determination.
