The minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says all decisions regarding the recent LG election in Rivers state were taken with the involvement of Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor, during the emergency rule.
The FCT minister and former Rivers governor made this known on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) organised the elections under the supervision of Ibok-Ete Ibas, the sole administrator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to oversee the state during the emergency rule.
Fubara and his supporters, however, did not participate in the August 30 polls.
Responding to concerns about the governor’s absence, Wike explained that he personally visited Fubara’s residence to discuss the elections.
According to him, Fubara had informed him earlier that he would be unavailable on election day due to a family commitment.
“This is what Nigerians should know: the governor wanted to come and see me. I said, ‘No, you’re the governor.’ I drove to the governor’s house by 1 am,” Wike said.
“I, the former governor of Rivers state, drove to the governor’s house at 1 am. I said, ‘Your Excellency, what do we do?’ There’s nothing that was done that the governor wasn’t part of.”
He added that Fubara travelled out of the state before the polls.
“Even before the election, the governor travelled. He told me he will not be around because his son has this engagement,” Wike said.
The minister criticised those spreading false narratives about the Rivers political situation.
“People just sit somewhere and begin to talk about all kinds of things they don’t even know,” he said.
“All they were expecting is, ‘Oh, they’ve not settled.’ Unfortunately, where people will be collecting money is no longer there.”
The elections were largely won by the All Progressives Congress (APC), while Fubara, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost in his own local government area.