The suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara has exonerated himself from allegation by President Bola Tinubu that he (Fubara) failed to prevent militants from attacking oil pipelines in the state.
Penpushing reports countered Tinubu’s accusations in a statement by his spokesperson, Nelson Chukwudi, explaining that he has nothing to do with threats and attacks on oil facilities by suspected militants and that he did not telegraph militants to attack any facility in the state.
The Governor on six months suspension suggested that the militants, like some other Niger Delta leaders and groups, including Ijaw National Congress, were reacting to a comment by his predecessor Nyesom Wike who is now Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
Penpushing further reports that it is recalled that Wike said during a press briefing last week that Ijaw people were a minority in Rivers state and other South-south states except Bayelsa, but later said he was misinterpreted.
“Most of the Ijaw groups and leaders even demanded an apology from the FCT minister, which he rebuffed. It is clearly untrue that somebody who has all the while preached peace and non-violence, even in the face of extreme provocations, would be ‘telegraphing attacks on oil pipelines’ and breaching the peace he has worked so hard to promote and sustain for the good of the people of the state’, Fubara said in a statement.
Penpushing also reports that speaking on the allegation of demolishing the Rivers state assembly complex, said he acted based on professional advice and guidance, adding that contrary to President’s claim, the demolished complex was being rebuilt by his administration.
The suspended Governor claimed that the Minister (Wike) had repeatedly criticised the assembly complex, describing it as a dilapidated structure with a leaking roof, adding that Wike, in August 2022, challenged the lawmakers to reject requests to rebuild it to ensure a conducive legislative environment for them.
“It must be noted that immediately after the incident of October 29, 2023, and experts’ reports, the government decided to heed the age-old demands of the lawmakers to rebuild the facility and promptly demolished the dilapidated structure to give way to a state-of-the-art assembly complex, which is now nearly 80 per cent completed’, he said.
Penpushing reports that Fubara accused Wike’s supporters of carrying out violent attacks on some local government council secretariats on October 5, 2024 during the local government council election in the state.
The governor in the statement of his defence on the allegation stated that, during the attacks, some facilities in the council areas were razed by the supporters without any reprisals from his own supporters.
“It is also pertinent to draw the attention of security agencies to the fact that LGAs where those attacks were unleashed are the same places that have repeatedly witnessed violence perpetrated by detractors of the Governor Fubara-led administration,” he said.
Penpushing further reports that it is recalled that the President on Tuesday in a nationwide broadcast declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, and also suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all the House of Assembly members for an initial six months.
The President cited the disturbing incidents in the state, including explosions and vandalisation of petroleum pipelines linked to the political crises in the state, as the basis for his action, while both the Senate and House of Representatives later approved the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
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