L-R: Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor Nyesom Wike during Fubara’s inauguration on Monday, May 29, 2023. The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Mr Tony Okocha has described Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the political investment of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.Okocha described Wike as Fubara’s mentor, saying the latter would not have been governor without the strong backing of the former.
“From civil servant to the candidate of a party and delivering him in 23 local governments out of 23, the first in our history, all of these were Wike’s ability to manoeuvre. The former governor has said, ‘I am not asking you for anything. I am only saying that you are destroying the structure that produced you.’
Although the Rivers governor survived an impeachment orchestrated by the Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers Assembly, Wike had vowed to do all it takes to maintain his “political structure” in Rivers state. A three-member panel of the appellate court led by Jimi Olukayode-Bada, held that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, as such matters can only be heard and determined before a federal high court.