Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, has described Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara’s decision to govern in isolation and his early attempt to establish an independent political structure as his greatest political missteps.
According to Wike, these actions signaled a disregard for the support base and political machinery that facilitated Fubara’s rise to power, thereby undermining the very structure that brought him into office.
Wike spoke during a special media chat held in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, on Saturday.
He said that, when leaving office as governor, he had laid a solid foundation and wanted Fubara to build on it so that Rivers could gradually catch up with Lagos in terms of the infrastructural revolution, but, unknown to him, Fubara had another plan.
The FCT Minister said he initiated the multi-billion-naira Port Harcourt Ring Road project linking many local government areas, which had already begun before he handed over to the governor, insisting he conceived the legacy project.
Wike said he built 12 flyovers, all inaugurated while he was in office as governor of the oil-rich state, and that they improved the infrastructure and aesthetics of Port Harcourt, the state capital and its environs.
He noted that politicians must be meticulous in their dealings, adding that the mistake Fubara made had further widened the gap, which he wanted to bridge between Lagos and Rivers development-wise.
Wike said, “In politics you have to be careful. There are those who want you to succeed and make a name. The opportunity that you have been given, not everybody has that opportunity. There are those who are not happy who don’t want you to be there, and you have to be very careful.
“Remember before I handed over to Governor Fubara, we did a church service and I did say that you have been elected. Few days you will be sworn in, now what do you want to achieve? See where I have stopped. My thinking is that we do need to compete with Lagos. We have laid the foundation, he (Fubara) should be able to continue from there, we will give you all the necessary support.”
He said that early in his administration as governor, Fubara started listening to those who wanted him to fail, including people who coveted his position, saying they advised the governor to start a fight with him.
He said, “But listen, in this game you have your stone base (support), you have your village relation, you have all kinds and manner of people. There are those who will mean well for you, there are those who will not mean well for you.
“Now you just came to office, somebody now comes, yes he is trying to support you. Must it be his name? Why not try now to put yourself and people know that it is you.
“Yes you came through him but it is now you; all kinds of manner of things. Some will even go through your wife. Some people will go through your in-laws. So people will go through your father and all kinds of things. So it now behoves on you to sit and say, this kind of advice, where will it lead me to?”
“You have to think well. If you make the mistake he made by saying that yes, I can do it alone, those who gave me support, I don’t care, I don’t need them. Those who didn’t want you will come in. There is no way anyone who didn’t want you in a position will want you to succeed.
“Yes, he tried to do it by himself and wanted to set up his own structure against the one that built him. In fact, it did not take up to 100 days, and we saw it. We said something must be fundamentally wrong.
“Forget about people who say you were asking him for money. You know, in politics, the moment you disagree on an issue, the only thing you can use to get the support of the people is that they are asking me for money.”
He recalled that, as governor, he never lost focus, explaining that his dedication was behind his achievements, which he wanted his successor to build on in the interest of the state.
“You have said here that Nigerians were astonished by me taking 31 days of commission and flag off, which no governor in this country has ever done. We were focused, but you see, he (Fubara) lost focus here.”
Asked whether he had asked Governor Fubara for money, as had been rumoured in some quarters, he debunked it, saying it was not surprising for people to make such allegations amid a political crisis.
Wike wondered why he should ask for money while in office as FCT Minister with a budget equivalent to that of a governor, saying such an argument did not hold water, but that he wanted Fubara to stabilise the state and consolidate his achievements
