A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and member of APC Legacy Projects Media Team, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has declared that the State of Emergency launched in Rivers State was designed to plunder the resources of the state and to save Mr. Nyesom Wike from drowning politically.
Chief Eze made the remarks in a press release he personally signed, adding that the State of Emergency only succeeded in “grounding the wheel of Rivers progress” without any “justification whatsoever”.
The statement was entitled “Rivers State: State of Emergency was about plundering the common patrimony of Rivers people, rescuing the drowning Wike, grounding the wheel of Rivers progress …no justification whatsoever”.
He said: “Imagine a situation where the multinationals that harness the oil in the Niger Delta are headquartered in Lagos.
“All the benefits from the oil exploration viz- tax, employment etc., go to Lagos while the Niger Deltans suffer the exploitation.
“So, in order to firm-up the grip of Lagos on the huge oil revenue, there has to be perpetual destabilization of the Niger Delta region, particularly, Rivers State.
“This is so because, they do not want Rivers State economy to compete with Lagos.
“While he served as Governor, Amaechi gave Lagos a serious chase, and Rivers was almost at par with Lagos in all spheres.
“Governor Fubara’s commitment to revive investment in infrastructure and build an enabling environment for businesses threatened Tinubu and Lagos.
“That is why the President didn’t think twice; didn’t look at the laws of the country; didn’t consider the dangers, the criticisms that may come with the unlawful suspension of the governor.
“Fubara’s performance was a threat…”
Eze, meanwhile, noted that following a public declaration by the State Sole Administrator, Ibok Ette-Ibas that he has fulfilled the mandate of President Bola Tinubu, and the thanksgiving service held yesterday at the ecumenical centre, Port Harcourt, “to wrap-up the devilish six month emergency rule”, there are no signs of the return of the duly elected governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, to office on September 18.
He hoped that as September 18 draws closer, the dubious characters involved in the awkward situation in the state will remain committed to lifting the atrocious State of emergency which he said was declared for three major reasons:
1. The plundering and looting of the treasure of Rivers State
2. To humiliate the State and her people by taking over illegally the political structure(s) of the State.
3. Most importantly to ensure that Rivers State doesn’t progress ahead of Lagos State by destroying her economic base and the speed in which Governor Sim Fubara was driving the State progressively.
The APC Chief expressed sadness to know that “Wike, a son of Rivers State, is used as a tool to accomplish these illegalities and wickedness against the State and her people.
“The future will determine if the people of Rivers State accept this effrontery and efforts to undermine the progress of the State by doing their best to reclaim the State from these undemocratic and unprincipled fellows.
“These three areas, Eze said, are the major factor(s) why the State of emergency was declared, and not for any insecurity reason as there was no security challenge facing the State at the time the State of emergency was declared,” he added.
Speaking on the adverse effects of the emergency situation in the state, Eze continued:
“All through the six months period that the Administrator held sway, the wheel of progress was grounded.
“Everything came to a halt. No project was initiated. Non was completed. Non proceeded beyond the level it was when the Governor was unlawful suspended.
“And no one is asking questions on the whereabouts of Rivers money. The Mr. Ibas looted the state dry. That was the mandate.
“How can a man who said he was sent to make peace turn around to support a faction in the crisis?
“Giving them appointments here and there even when such indulgences clearly offend extant laws. Conducting local council elections without having the powers to do so. It’s unfortunate we find ourselves here.”
Eze urged Fubara upon his return, to prioritize the development of the state, which he has always pursued with zeal, as top on his agenda.
“Service to the people should be top on his to-do list because Rivers people still believe in the sincerity of his administration.
“Any agreement that does not serve the interest of the people which the Governor was made to sign must be subject to the mandate to provide service and be accountable to the people,” he emphasised.
Eze Expressed disappointment that Nigerians watched and did nothing by allowing the illegalities in Rivers State to happen successfully.
Given the circumstance, he fears that if Nigerians continue in this line of docility, it will impact very negatively on the country and her democracy as 2027 general elections draws closer.
He said the deafening silence of Governor Fubara on the matter is understandable as he is helpless particularly given the fact that it is a fight by the federal government against an individual, the governor, who has no control over any state apparatus, particularly the security architecture.
“Even as the sins that Tinubu and Wike have committed against Rivers State and her people are unforgivable, let us believe that September 18 will mark an end to the nonsense in Rivers State, so that the people can breathe fresh hair once again as they have suffocated for so long under the emergency rule which has brought them nothing but anguish and gnashing of the teeth,” Eze lamented.
and then