… Says Rivers is in state of stagnation, horror
By: Felix Ikpotor
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha has refuted reports that he congratulated the Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara on his first anniversary as Governor.
Okocha said it was unthinkable for him to congratulate a government that is in intensive care unit (ICU).
The Rivers APC Chairman stated this in a media chat with journalists in Port Harcourt while reacting to a document alledging that he had congratulated Governor Fubara for his successful one year in office.
He said the document was an attempt by purveyors of wickedness to malign his reputation as a voice for the voiceless and the opposition in the state, urging members of the public to discountenance the purported statement.
The press statement purported to have been personally signed by Chief Tony Okocha and circulated online was titled “Tony Okocha makes a U-turn, congratulates Governor Fubara on a Successful One Year in Office and apologies for Any Wrongdoing, portrayed Chief Okocha to have mended fences with Governor Fubara”, but Okocha said nothing of such happened.
He said: “I think it is right to jab the very idiotic script titled: “Tony Okocha Makes a U-Turn, Congratulates Governor Fubara on a Successful One Year in Office and Apologies for Any Wrongdoing in a Press Statement he Personally Signed.”
“I make bold to category and unequivocally say that what I just read is a document that emanated from the pit of hell, not only cruel, it’s a jejune, nonsensical and it is fake.
“I could not have congratulated a government that is in intensive care unit, not as Tony Okocha, worst case as the Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Rivers State and by that fact the leader of opposition parties and voice of the voiceless in Rivers State. I couldn’t have done so, not even at the point that I was going to breathe my last.
“This document should be thrown to the trash can and seen as the concoctment of purveyors of wickedness whose intention is an attempt to malign my name by showing me off as one who speaks from both sides of my mouth.”
While rating the performance of the state governor on his one year in office, Okocha scored the Governor Fubara zero on a scale of one to ten, challenging the Governor and his allies to show one project initiated and completed by the current administration, adding that if any project is shown, he would immediately recant and publicly congratulate the governor.
“While I was away, a whole lot of you called to know my take on the 365 days in office being celebrated nationwide including that of the governor of Rivers State, so I have called you to hear my own take.
“I want to say to you clearly that the administration of Rivers State today under Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a sham. Take it on a scale of 1 to 10, he scored minus zero. In other words, it is apt to say that we have relapsed to the days of primitive administrations in our political history. There is nothing to show and I challenge the Governor and his handlers to show just one proof of one project he commenced and completed in 365 days.
“The moment I see and hear that, I will immediately recant and publicly congratulate the governor. Let him show me one project he can franchise to himself, not the appropriation of the projects of the former governor,” he stated.
The state APC Caretaker Committee Chairman who is also Rivers representative on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, also accused Governor Fubara of inaugurating projects initiated by former governor Nyesom Wike without ascribing the glory to Wike, describing the incumbent Governor as a plagiarist
“Yes, government is a continuum. Again he rose on the plan of continuity and consolidation and so it’s also not unexpected but the danger on what he is doing is that he doesn’t even accord one percent of credit to his predeccessor. In writing, they call it plagiarism. You lift somebody’s work or intellectual property and you don’t put a quote or infact, without crediting it to the source, then the law says you are guilty of plagiarism. So in other words, Siminalayi Fubara is a plagiarist.
“Again, I want to challenge you to compare what he has achieved in 365 days. We are in trouble in Rivers State. It’s an era of horror, stagnation and all other vices that anybody can think of.”
Responding to a question on whether the fear of the proposed probe by Governor Fubara on previous administration on the state had made Chief Nyesom Wike to soft pedal in terms of criticisms against the Governor, Okocha stated that the proposed probe was not a threat to Wike, adding that every public office holder knows for certain that they are accountable for their actions or inactions.
Okocha emphasised that probe was not new in Rivers State as Wike also probed the administration of his predecessor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, adding that Amaechi also probed the administration of his predecessor, Dr. Peter Odili.
He said, “It is only a fool, for want if better word that would leave a public office and conclude like it was a private enterprise and because of that you don’t think that you will be susceptible to probe, a day of reckoning will surely come so for anybody to imagine, including Siminalayi Fubara to think that the mention of probe is a threat, no, it’s not a threat.
“So that he mentioned probe is nothing. I have been asking, what are the delays in setting up the panel. I have challenged him and I’m challenging him again that he who goes to equity must go with a clean hand. I listened to him, he said he was going to probe past administrations, not just Wike even though it was an innuendo targeted at Wike.
“Also, we are saying that you cannot also do so without vacating that order procured long ago by former Governor Peter Odili that stopped the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , EFCC, from probing Odili, Rotimi Amaechi, Nyesom and now you, Siminalayi Fubara will benefit from that judgment.
“Also shade off your immunity as governor because as Director of Finance and Administration, Government House, Accountant-General of the state, there is no way you can be absolved of probe of a governor.
“Don’t forget also that the governor is not a signatory of any account but gives just mandate. So as Accountant-General, it’s clear that he was signatory to the account so he too is not free.
“So to say that that has quiet Wike is not correct. Don’t also forget that Wike is a Minister of the Federal Republic so whether people speak for him or not, he has to be circumspect. At the fullness of time everybody will speak up.
Responding to inquiries whether Martin Amaewhule and the 26 other members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Nyesom Wike are members of the APC he replied thus: “Can we agree that what makes you a member of a group is that you have your name in the register of that group and if there is an identity card, you also have your own identity card to show that you’re a member and in the case of a political party, you also have your membership card. However , the matter is subjudice so I can’t speak further on that.
On the state of Nigeria’s economy, Okocha appealed to Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu.
