{VIDEO} ‘Out of 18 Commissioners in Fubara’s administration, 17 were appointed by Wike’ – Jake Ekpelle

By KEMI KASUMU

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Albino Foundation (TAF) Africa and Political Analyst, Jake Ekpelle, has spoken about the cause of political conflict in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor former Governor Nyesom Wike.

Wike, who governed the state eight years without even those who make him a better person politically, has frustrated his success, Fubara, despite having a whole grip appointing the bulk of his government officials and nominating a whole of candidates who were elected as lawmakers into the Rivers State House of Assembly.

In a live interview programme by Silverbird Television, Ekpelle, who was asked what elders like him were doing as the political quagmire took the state to this current state, alleged that the conflict began when Fubara resisted Wike’s attempts to control the state’s resources.

According to Ekpelle, this was the real cause of their disagreement, rather than Wike’s claim that the conflict started due to Fubara’s efforts to undermine his (Wike’s) political structure.

He also said Wike appointed 17 of the 18 commissioners in Fubara’s cabinet

In Ekpelle’s words: “They wanted to be in absolute control of the resources of the state and in such a manner that it will crumble the state and Fubara resisted them and refused to cave in. That started his problem.

“The mere excuse that ‘he wants to destroy our political structure’ has nothing to do with the issue. It is about resource control and asserting their political influence.

“It was more of wanting to appoint everybody that will work with Fubara. Out of 18 commissioners in Fubara’s administration, 17 were appointed by Wike. This is a known fact,” Jake Ekpelle revealed.

Watch video of interview HERE

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By these Ekpelle’s revelations, elements especially supporters of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate otherwise called BATists, who have dominated the social media calling Fubara unprintable names including names among which is “betrayal of his helper”, are now finding it difficult to hold forth to that position of thought.

One of them who sought not to be mentioned, while reacting tonthe comment by Jake Ekpelle, said, “Sincerely speaking, it will be suicidal to continue to fight this Governor Siminalayi Fubara on the basis of sentiments. Not even Tinubu or Wike we have ever seen would allow anyone to dictate to his administration.

“Wike, particularly, attempted to make irrelevant and disrespect his own helpers including former Governor Peter Odili, who made him Chairman Obio-Akpor Local Government Area first and helped him for second term despite not being a performer, and former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who made him Chief of Staff and further nominated him as Minister in the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Administration.

“Despite his many acts of misrule, neither Odili nor Amaechi ever interfered in his eight years tenure in office but, like what Tinubu did upon vacating office in 2007, Wike cleverly chose who would be members House of Assembly so as to use them to flag Fubara to always do his bidding as sitting Governor and still went ahead to select his Commissioners.

“Initially I was one of those who ignorantly called this Governor a traitor and who listed out how Wike helped him to become Governor only for him to now betray him. The Jake Ekpelle interview opened my head and eyes like miracle and I began to remember and asked myself: ‘How many of those who helped Tinubu in 1999 to become Governor of Lagos State remain standing today? How many of them? Atiku who did not let Obasanjo take the Lagos State he governed despite cries against his allegedly untrue claim of indigeneship, what has become of the relationship between them? Yet, he successfully empowered himself by using Lagos State House of Assembly members he nominated to whip his successor Babatunde Raji Fashola to doing his biddings after office, same to Akinwumi Ambode and currently Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“I see similarity between what Siminalayi Fubara faces in the hands of Wike and that exactly is the truth. And I also see that it could be the reason they both find common morality easily running across them that Wike would even go to the extent of betraying the same party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that propped him up by falling into the Tinubu’s trap of making work against it. What could be a greater betrayal?

“But the good thing is that Governor Fubara has gotten the people as his own major weapon and it is working for him to the extent that Wike’s expectation – that Fubara being a minority will not be able to give him success resisting his attempted control of state politics and resources – has failed him,” he said.