Tony Okocha, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as the mentor of Governor Sim Fubara.
Okocha highlighted that Fubara was a political investment of Wike and emphasized that Fubara wouldn’t have become governor without Wike’s support.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Okocha elaborated on the rift between Wike and Fubara, attributing it to Wike’s efforts to preserve his political structure in Rivers.
Okocha stated, “Governor Fubara is Wike’s political investment. From being a civil servant to becoming the party’s candidate and winning in all 23 local governments, which is unprecedented in our history, it was all due to Wike’s political manoeuvring.
“The former governor has said, ‘I am not asking you for anything. I am only saying that you are destroying the structure that produced you.’
“No politician would allow their political structure to be dismantled because it leaves them without a base to return to. That is the issue.”
The conflict between Fubara and Wike revolves around control of the political landscape in Rivers.
In related news, on Thursday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed an order from a Rivers High Court that restrained Martin Amaewhule and 24 others from acting as lawmakers of the State Assembly. A three-member panel, led by Jimi Olukayode-Bada, ruled that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, as such matters fall under the jurisdiction of a federal high court.