[BREAKING] Amaechi: Tinubu’s Emergency Rule in Rivers Aimed at Intimidating Governors Ahead of 2027 Election
A former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State was a ploy to intimidate governors to support his re-election bid in 2027.
Amaechi, who is a former governor of the state also stated that the disagreement between the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was about money sharing.
This is just as the drama in the politics of the state has continued despite the declaration of a state of emergency in the state as Fubara; the former Head of Service (HoS) in the state, Dr George Nwaeke; and his wife, Florence Nwaeke clashed over the former HoS’ allegation that the suspended governor masterminded the bombing of the Rivers House of Assembly complex in 2023.
Speaking yesterday in an interview with DW Africa, Amaechi insisted that the emergency rule imposed on the state by President Tinubu was unconstitutional.
Amaechi argued that the president’s move has instilled fear in governors, “that if you are not careful, the president will remove you”.
He added that Fubara has “no security responsibility” over the Rivers State crisis and that the suspended governor was being punished for an offence he “did not commit”.
“It is between the president and the FCT minister. The president wants a power grab. They want to frighten governors who may not support them in 2027. So, there is a rumour everywhere that if you are not careful, the president will remove you,” the former Rivers governor said.
“If the president said it is because of insecurity because they blew the pipeline, what about parts of the country where there is insecurity? Is the president saying they should impose an emergency rule on him too? They can’t because he is a democratically elected president. Nobody can impose an emergency rule on him because there is serious insecurity in the North-east, North-west — even in South-east and South-west.
“Rivers State governor has no security responsibility; it rests squarely on the president. So why punish a man who did not commit an offence?” Amaechi queried.
He called on the residents of the state to “resist the president”, adding that the resistance should be done “by democratically protesting against the president”.
On the feud between Fubara and Wike, the former governor said it is all about money sharing.
He said: “The fight between the current governor of Rivers State and the FCT minister is about sharing money. If not, what is the quarrel? Nigerians don’t dislike corruption anymore. I’ve not seen anybody on the street querying what the problem is. Can both of them speak to the public and tell us what the problem is?
“We are now denied democracy. Rivers State is the only state in the country currently not enjoying democracy. They have imposed military rule on us.
“Secondly, the president acted outside the Constitution. Section 188 states how a governor can leave office, either by death, resignation, or impeachment. It didn’t say that one day you wake up and a man called the president of Nigeria will throw you out of office, which makes democracy unstable.”
The former minister stressed that the president had a hand in Rivers’ situation because he wanted to wield power by ousting governors who may not support him in the 2027 general election.
Suspended Governor, Ex-HoS, Wife Clash over State Assembly Bombing
Meanwhile, the former HoS, Dr Nwaeke, on Friday accused the suspended governor of masterminding the destruction of the state assembly complex and the bombing of the Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area and subsequent attack on the oil pipeline in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, all in the state.
But a few hours after the former HoS’ interview went viral, his wife, Florence raised the alarm over the safety of her husband, whom she said was invited to Abuja by a friend.
In a viral video, Mrs Nwaeke alleged that some powerful politicians asked her husband to implicate Fubara, in a N15 billion fraud.
She insinuated that her husband made the statements credited to him under duress.
She said her husband had earlier informed her that he resigned because some people brought documents to him where he was asked to implicate the suspended governor in a financial fraud.
However, Mrs Nwaeke was said to be under duress to retract her initial statement on how her husband was allegedly invited to Abuja and forced to accuse the suspended governor of the N15 billion scam.
But in a new twist, Nwaeke has denied the claims by his wife that he was kidnapped.
Nwaeke stated that contrary to her assertion, he is safe in Abuja where he had gone to voluntarily report himself to security agencies over developments in Rivers State.
In a video released in the early hours of yesterday, the former HoS, who claimed to be TRANSCORP in Abuja, dismissed his wife’s claim as false, stressing that she had been misled and given a script to read.
In a swift reaction to the HoS’ allegations, Fubara, through his Chief of Staff, said the former HoS was compromised, stressing that his allegation was aimed at fulfilling Nwaeke’s promise to those who may have paid or coerced him to lie against the governor.
Fubara, also in a statement he personally signed, countered Nwaeke’s allegations.
Fubara said: “First, on the claim that he was aware of my discussions and plans to support Bala Mohammed’s alleged 2027 presidential bid, it is laughable that Dr. Nwaeke would be part of any high-level political meeting as Head of Service, much more sitting in my alleged night meetings with Bala Mohammed and militants as he claimed. However, none of such meetings were ever held.
“The truth is that the whole world knew when the Bauchi State Governor, as Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum, visited the state, and there was nothing secret about the visits”.
Fubara stated: “It is also ludicrous for Dr. Nwaeke to claim that he was aware of my meetings to encourage attacks on oil pipelines and other national assets in the state, as there was no time, I held any meeting with militants or any criminal group to destabilise the state. It is on record that I have been at the forefront preaching peace in the state even in the face of obvious provocations”.
He explained: “The truth is that Dr. Nwaeke has been compromised, and whatever he is saying is only aimed at fulfilling his promise to those who may have paid or coerced him to lie against me”.
Meanwhile, the federal commissioner representing the South-South geopolitical zone in the National Population Commission (NPC), Professor Itotenaan Henry Ogiri, who was accused by Mrs Nwaeke of inviting her husband to Abuja, has denied the allegations.
In a statement, Ogiri said: “Of note is the fact that the woman in the viral video was accusing me of putting a call from Abuja across to her husband and had asked that the husband come over to Abuja so we can discuss some certain matters. She even alleged that I offered to pay for her husband’s flight ticket. (Who is supposed to pay for whose ticket?).
He said: “While Dr George Nwaeke is my friend and a professional colleague, we have only spoken once since I left the Rivers State cabinet in November 2023. I think that should be late last year or early this year.”
He stated that he has not spoken with Dr Nwaeke since the Supreme Court judgment on the state.
