Fubara’s Appointments Show Wike Remains Governor, Say Citizens
3 min read
Edith CHUKU
Some residents of the state have criticised the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for nominating those who served as commissioners under the former governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, as nominees for appointment as commissioners into the State Executive Council.
They wondered why the governor chose to retain those they described as Wike’s loyalists in his administration.
They adjudged Fubara’s nomination of Emeka Woke, Mrs. Inime Aguma, Nwafor Uchechukwu, Dr. Kenneth Chisom Gbah and Mr. Henry Ogiri, for screening by the Rivers State House of Assembly to mean a continuation of Wike’s third term agenda.
The Rivers State House of Assembly invited these five persons to appear before the house for screening as commissioner nominees. They are to be screened by 10am today, June 9, 2023.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TNN, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress APC, in the state, Mr. Felix Ekpendu expressed disappointment over Fubara’s choice of commissioners.
Ekpendu said this was because the persons nominated are loyalists of the former governor. He added that they also served as commissioners in Wike’s government.
According to him, “those commissioner nominees are former governor’s squad, there is no difference, it’s continuity like some of us were saying that time that Sim’s emergence is the third tenure of the outgoing governor.
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“Four persons on that list were his former commissioners. Uche Nwafor is a former commissioner, Emuoha nominee; Emeka Woke is former chief of staff, Ogiri is a very popular and known face, everybody know he is the governor’s ally, he has worked with the former governor, he is the former governor’s friend. The former commissioner, the woman he mentioned, Aguma, has also been in government, a former commissioner, so who else that have not worked with the former governor, so that means it is the same structure, the continuity of third tenure, so, there is nothing different.
“Wike remains the governor of Rivers State as far as I am concern. He is still the governor, the day they will disagree, you will also know, the day Wike will stop to be the governor, you will also know, you are a journalist, just as you are interviewing me now, you will carry it.
“Listen to me, what I will advise him is that let him know that he is the governor of Rivers State, it is no longer Nyesom Wike that is the governor, because history will remind him that he was once a governor, even if he leaves office today, he will be regarded as a former governor, so, let him mind his business, not tomorrow he will come and tell Rivers people that he was influenced or begin to cry.
“From what we have seen so far, I think the former governor is still the governor of Rivers State.”
