Saturday, March 29, 2025 -The immediate past Head of Service in Rivers State Dr George Nweke, has alleged that the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, sponsored the burning of the recent explosions that occurred on some oil facilities in the state and masterminded the burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex to stop his impeachment by the house.
Nweke said this in a press briefing he had in Abuja days
after his removal from office by the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice
Admiral Ibom Ete Ibas.
Speaking to newsmen, Nweke who appreciated Fubara for
appointing him to serve in his administration, said his aim of addressing the
press was to put records straight, adding that only falsehoods are peddled on
social media platforms.
“With loads of misinformation on print and electronic media,
I have chosen to put the record straight, I was not sacked neither was I
pressured to resign, I did it willingly from the depth of my heart, however as
an insider and a key player in this administration by my position, who worked
closely with Siminilayi Fubara, it will be unfair for me to keep silent or not
to address some key factors that has affected or will affect our state if we
continue on this trajectory.
“I want to use this medium to thank Mr. President for a
swift intervention in the Rivers State crisis especially on the state of
emergency that was declared and assented to by the National Assembly.
“You will recall that when the governor was suspended, as
the head of service I was the next in command so I am not speaking from
outside, I am speaking as an insider. If not for the intervention of Mr.
President Nigeria would have faced the worst economic sabotage and Rivers State
would have been up in flames.”
Nweke alleged that Fubara had on the wake of the crisis in
the state directly his suspended Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, to burn down the
Assembly complex to avert his seeming impeachment.
He also said the suspended governor had made some
advancement to bring down the residential quarters of the state lawmakers,
adding that Fubara wasted state funds to massage his ego.
Nweke said:
“First, it all started with the Rivers State House of
Assembly were the Governor, Siminilayi Fubara directed his Chief of Staff
(Edison Ehie) to burn down the assembly in a way to avert his impeachment, that
evening Edison was in government house with two other boys, including the
former Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA one Chijioke. I was there with them when a
bag of money was handed over to Edison for that operation, though I do not know
the amount inside.
I want to tell Rivers people today that the house of
assembly complex in Moscow Road was clearly brought down by Edison Ehie under
the instructions of Gov Siminilayi Fubara, I challenge him to an open
confrontation and I will throw more light on it. A day after that incident, I
almost resigned but I was very scared because I know the power of a sitting
governor and he knew that I am aware of the whole plan and that I am
discomforted with the unconscionable act and deliberate posture of innocence
and mien of a sheep.
Another attempt was also made to destroy the residential
quarters of the House of Assembly members if not for the press conference that
was made there by Rivers youths, Rivers elders and National Assembly members,
that would have been another barbaric demolition in Rivers State
I came to realize that they wanted to demolish that second
building because, after some weeks, he told me that if he had known early he
would have gone to pull down their hall before visiting the residential
quarters of the assembly and that he didn’t know that they had such a beautiful
hall were they are using now for their sitting, I was shocked and I asked
myself how could a man that wants to lead his people be destroying his state
assets and wasting public funds on a needless ego fight.”
The former HoS urged leaders of the Niger Delta region to
support the Emergency Rule declared in the state, while claiming that Fubara
and some other Ijaw leaders sponsored the bombing of some oil facilities in the
state.
“Thirdly I want to advice some key stakeholders who has
condemned the state of emergency made by the President and confirmed by the
National Assembly to retract their statements, I also understand that they are
only seeing the surface. If the President did not take proactive step, no one
knows who would have been affected by the sinister plans that were cooking.
While I thank Mr President for the state of emergency that
was declared in Rivers State for 6 months, I will plead with him not to give up
on Rivers State affairs because a lot is going on there with Governor Fubara.
One of the factors that got me removed was when Governor Fubara told me that
they will use the Ijaws to decide who would become the next president of
Nigeria and I asked him how that work. Is it by votes or by what means?
He clearly told me that he is the chief security officer of
Rivers State and his brother is in charge of Bayelsa State and all the
pipelines are under their care that at the appropriate time, they will tell the
boys what to do and fund was not an issue. That was why when he made that
statement in his public function that “I will tell the boys what to do at the
appropriate time” I knew something was up and perhaps the time was near.
He boasted
to be the “David that will bring down the Goliath of Rivers State.” That he has
the backing of the cream-de-la cream in the state. The likes of Dr. Peter Odili
and their family promised to use their contacts in the judiciary including some
members of their University Council to break new ground for him.
The plan
was to start from non-Ijaw speaking areas to destroy oil facilities to remove
attention from the Ijaw and make it have a statewide look. The Ogoni, Oyibo,
and Ahoda areas were to be bombed first before the Ijaw zones. This would have
brought down the government of President Tinubu and ushered in a new President
from the coalition of political parties with a Vice President from the Ijaws.
Sometime,
I sleep over in the government house but I started being uncomfortable when
Gov. Bala Mohammed and some other stakeholders started nocturnal visits to
Rivers State. I recalled after one of such visits he told me that he would
support Bala Mohammed for president or any other northerner. That discussion is
ongoing. Though I was not bothered about who he supported I was more concerned
about the quantum of state resources that he released to these visitors at each
visit.
Let me
also draw the attention of the Nigeria Labour Congress to call the Chairman of
their Rivers State chapter to order to avoid politicizing Labour. I am privy to
several private meetings between the Governor and the Labour leader in the
state and the largesse that accompanied each meeting to compromise the Labour
Union.
More
worrisome is several meetings between the governor, his chief of staff and some
militant leaders. The details of which meetings I am not privy to since I was
not allowed into the meetings. However, each meeting ended with a huge sum of
money paid to attendees.
I wish to
state categorically that Rivers people and indeed Nigerians are the beneficiary
of the declaration of a state of emergency rule in Rivers State and not Gov.
Fubara or Minister Wike.''
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