Emergency Rule: Former Deputy Speaker Seeks Support For Ibas

Former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Chibudom Nwuche, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bold steps in restoring peace, law and order in Rivers State.

He hailed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the state and called on all stakeholders to support the administration of the state’s sole administrator, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), to actualise his mandate in the state.

Nwuche spoke yesterday when he received members of the former Councillors and Supervisors Forum from Ahoada East local government area of the state, under the auspices of the Wikematic Counsellors Forum (WCF) at his Port Harcourt residence.

The former deputy speaker commended his visitors for remaining steadfast during the political crises, which saw their efforts and contributions in making Siminalayi Fubara the governor of Rivers.

He said, “Rather than reaping the dividends of your contributions, you were pushed aside and victimised for your stand for the truth. Those, who never worked for the emergence of the suspended governor became beneficiaries”.

Nwuche berated the ingratitude displayed by the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara towards his benefactor and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, who single-handedly made him governor against all odds.

He reminded the former councillors of the need to always show gratitude, saying, “A river that forgets its source will soon dry up”,adding that even the Holy Bible condemns ingratitude.

The former deputy speaker cautioned the promoters of ethnicity in Rivers politics, saying it heightened the political tension, especially those from outside Rivers.

Nwuche emphasised that Fubara was voted for by all the tribes in Rivers, such as the Ikwerre, Ogoni, Ekpeye, Etche, Kalabari, among others, insisting that no ethnic group could solely make itself a governor in Rivers.

He said, “Fubara wasn’t voted as an Ijaw governor, but as a Rivers governor. He was voted for all Rivers people and not for any particular tribe.”

He urged meddlesome interlopers from outside Rivers to focus on their states and called on those at the National Assembly to direct their energies on matters affecting their constituencies.

He said, “I feel very disappointed when I see some members of the National Assembly from neighboring states pontificating on the Rivers crisis as if it was why their constituents sent them to the National Assembly. I urge the National Assembly to sanction such members and their constituents to recall them for lack of understanding of their mandate.”

Nwuche advised those continuously sponsoring protests designed to cause a breach of peace in Rivers to retrace their steps and realise that a Supreme Court Judgement had resolved all the political issues in Rivers.

He said no amount of protests could change the position of the law on the political issues in Rivers and called on all citizens of Rivers to support the sole administrator in his determination to restore permanent peace and drive development within the period of the state of emergency.

Nwuche also thanked his visitors for remaining on the side of truth despite intimidation and harassment saying they had been vindicated with the Supreme Court judgement.

Earlier in his speech, the leader of the delegation, Adamu Moses, told Nwuche that they were in his house to thank him for standing behind Wike in supporting President Tinubu’s administration.

Adamu said that but for the timely intervention of the President through the declaration of emergency rule, the state was already heading for a full-scale crisis that could have led to loss of lives and wide-scale destruction of national oil and gas assets.

He said bombings of oil installations started after persons, who claimed to be in solidarity with the suspended governor threatened fire and brimstone.

Adamu extolled the leadership qualities of Wike, describing him as a detribalized leader, who sited developmental projects across all ethnic groups and LGAS in Rivers when he was governor.

He said Wike made an Ijaw man governor against stiff opposition from even some notable Ijaw personalities who described the governor as not “real Ijaw” at that time.

He wondered why the same persons were working hard to bring the state down by preaching ethnicity. He pledged that his group would continue to support the programmes of the sole administrator, Wike, and the success of President Tinubu’s administration, including his reelection in 2027.

Also speaking, the coordinator of the Wikematic Former Councillors Forum in Rivers State, Dr Samuel Amos, thanked Nwuche for being the true symbol of the Ekpeye man known for integrity and gratitude by standing with Wike.