The current Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and former governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike has scorned his former political associates who are now staunch supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, saying that they are people who don’t mean well for the state.
Wike, who addressed a large crowd of his supporters at Abalama, Asari Toru LGA of the state in a grand reception in his honour by Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (NEW) associates in the three LGAs of the Kalabari land also accused Gov Fubara of surrounding himself with people who wanted to occupy his position at all cost two years ago.
Wondering the kind of advice such people would give him because, according to him, those were the same individuals who wanted the governorship position at all cost but he turned them down, he further stated that so far, Gov Fubara has not shown any sign that he would succeed as governor.
Wike also mocked Gov Fubara and his supporters for attempting to truncate the reception, saying that they were already 2-0 down and that more were still to come. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have come but I resolved to make sure I come for this grand reception after hearing the noise that I can’t come to Kalabari land.”
“You surrounded yourself with people who wanted to be governor, whom I said ‘no, these people don’t mean well for Rivers State’. They are the ones surrounding you, giving you advice. Do you think you will succeed?
“They will give bad advice and look at what bad advice is doing to you. You are already down 2-0, and there’s more to come,” he told his supporters who had thronged the Abalama secondary school field venue of the reception.
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, who is also chairman of Wike’s faction of Rivers State Elders forum extolled the outstanding qualities of Wike and his numerous contributions to the development of Kalabari people. Speaker after speaker at the event extolled the contributions of Wike to the development of Kalabari land
However, the grand reception was greeted with protest from some Kalabari women, who attempted to block road to the venue of the reception but were chased away by security operatives who fired teargas to disperse them.
A day before the reception, there was much noise and attempts to scuttle the reception because, Wike had in his last media chat called the Ijaws in the state as the minority of minorities. A statement that has drawn the irk of Ijaw people across the Niger Delta.
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and another Kalabari group had earlier fixed their own receptions at the same venue, forcing the Amayanabo of Abalama and his council of chiefs to write the governor and security agencies to cancel the events to avert any violence.
