3 Ways Fubara Overpower Wike As Crisis Deepens
Simi Fubara was naive when the former Rivers State governor picked him as his successor. It’s a common practice among outgoing governors to singlehandedly anoint their successor and impose him on the party. Nyesom Wike wanted someone he could control to take over and by proxy he would lead the state.
But the reality is now totally from the plan. His basic political structure is even under a serious threat as far as the state is concerned. Gradually, Simi Fubara is eroding Wike his popularity in the south-south state.
Things started very well, but their relationship has become sour and efforts made to reunite them including the intervention of President Bola Tinubu have hit the rock. They are now cat and rat avoiding each other while at the same time seriously working against each other ahead of the next general elections.
Simi Fubara started by dealing with the House of Assembly, where his own impeachment was planned and was about to be executed. He succeeded in removing all the 27 lawmakers who are loyal to the former governor. Just three lawmakers are responsible to the incumbent. And they are the only members right now.
The crisis over the Rivers State House of Assembly subsists and it can be throughout the administration. Fubara even went on to demolish some parts of the assembly complex.
The matter is in the court and Simi Fubara’s faction’s argument is that the 27 lawmakers including the erstwhile speaker have dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hence they have lost their seats in the assembly. A court has invalidated their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
That’s not the only issue. Fubara has ensured that he frustrates the cabinet members (Commissioners) by carrying out a reshuffling. Most of the loyalists of Wike were seriously affected and they had to drop their letter of resignation from office. The governor celebrated this by saying that peace has returned to his government.
In the week, a fresh issue came up. The tenure of the local government areas chairmen expired and the governor ordered the Heads of Local Government Areas to take over the affairs of the councils. The chairmen were loyal to Wike. And the expiration of their tenure gave the governor an opportunity to stamp his feet on the local government areas.
At Ikwerre Local Government Area, a loyalist of Nyesom Wike attempted to stop the order of the government. He said that there were no elections and his tenure was yet to end. He was ignorant of the provisions of the constitution of the country.
Swiftly, Fubara selected the caretaker committees to oversee the affairs of the council. He made sure he appointed his own loyalists.
