President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to intervene in the ongoing rift between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Speaking to newsmen at the weekend, an experienced election observer, Moshood Isah, said the Rivers state crisis shows that politics has replaced good governance. He urged to perform his due diligence by cautioning the parties involved to restore the State’s normalcy
Recall that both men have been at loggerheads over controlling the political landscape in the oil-rich state. President Bola Tinubu has been urged to leave Nyesom Wike with a choice of either the FCT or Rivers State.
There were allegations that Wike, before handing over administrative power to Fubara, single-handedly hand-picked all the commissioners and aides of the governor. It was gathered that this situation triggered the rift between both parties as Fubara sought to have administrative freedom and control.
At present, some commissioners loyal to the ex-governor have tendered their resignation. At the same time, 27 lawmakers of the Rivers state parliament loyal to Wike have also decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to this development, a foremost election observer and ex-communications officer of Yiaga Africa, Moshood Isah, said the political instability in Rivers State indicates no transparency in the state’s leadership recruitment process. In a chat with Legit.ng,
Isah said: “This is evidence of a lack of transparency in the leadership recruitment process in the state, where it seems like just one person is in charge of hand-picking leaders at all levels.”
Isah also questioned President Tinubu’s stoic body language in the Rivers State crisis, urging him to caution Wike to focus on his job as FCT minister. According to him: “In saner climes, you would expect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call his minister to order. Wike has to choose between managing Rivers State and his role as minister.
“It’s no more news that godfatherism has continued to impede good governance over the years, and the fact that the situation in Rivers State has degenerated to this eyesore is quite appalling. Before you know it, four years have already been spent on a battle of supremacy rather than policy reforms, infrastructure, and good governance”, he stated.
