Senate President Godswill Akpabio yesterday faulted Rivers State Governor Siminialayi Fubara on his handling of the political crisis in the state, which has pitted him against Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, the Speaker and the majority of the members of the State House of Assembly as well as many stakeholders of his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, said a wise governor or President must forge a close relationship with the legislature.
The Senate President spoke as Special Guest of Honour at a Public Lecture and Book Launch held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital to mark the FCT Minister’s 57th birthday.
Wike himself said criticism from his political opponents meant nothing to him as “the support Mr President is giving to me is enough for me.”
“I do not require anything. The moment I know that my Mr. President is happy, the moment I know that my family is happy, the moment I know that my friends and associates are happy, what is my own? I just go on,” he told the audience that spilled from the hall onto the popular Sani Abacha Road and adjoining streets in the Government Reservation Area.
The lecture entitled Pragmatic Strides of a Visionary Leader and Contemporary Issues of Society, attracted thousands of Wike’s loyalists, friends and associates from different parts of the country and various walks of life.
The event was organised by the NEW Associates, a new political movement coined from the initials of the minister’s names, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
Akpabio, who recognised Martins Amaewhule at the event as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, reminded Fubara of the power of the legislative arm.
Amaewhule leads the 27 state legislators loyal to Wike.
Akpabio said he realised as governor between 2007 and 2015 that in a duel between the governor and the legislative arm, the governor could be hurt by the other side, hence he had to fashion out ways to work with the Speaker during his tenure.
“For those of you who may not understand politics, we were taught that the parliament can turn a woman into a man and a man into a woman. As a governor, my greatest fear was my House of Assembly,” he said.
“So because of that I never travelled anywhere without my Speaker. Any time I didn’t see him for a day, I would send somebody to his house to invite him to come and have a lunch with me, and I used ideas to look at his face to know whether he was happy with me or not.
“The only place that can hurt a governor is the House of Assembly, and no court or democracy can stop that from happening. Any President that wants to survive like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must hold the Speaker and the Senate President very closely the way he is holding us.
“Recently he conferred on us GCON, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. Whether he loved it or not, he did it.”
Akpabio wondered why, despite all the resources at the disposal of Fubara, he had not been able to woo some of the 27 lawmakers in the camp of Wike.
He deplored what he called politics of betrayal and treachery, saying such trend was affecting sustainability in governance.
His words: “I do not know what is happening in Rivers State, but I hope that the successor of Wike realises the fact that no matter how the bird flies, the legs are pointing to the ground.
“Something must be wrong. Today is not for politics. Today is for Nyesom Wike.
“But sometimes I wonder, I would never be the governor, given the resources of Rivers State, and then I disagree with my House of Assembly and I am not able to poach at least one member out of the other group.
“If I do not do that, it means that there is something wrong with my political philosophy.
“I do not care what people say. We must try to stop this politics of betrayal and politics of treachery, because it does not allow for good succession.
“Prof Julius Ihonvbere (Guest Lecturer and Majority Leader of the House of Representatives) in everything you said here, the word that was missing was ‘sustainability’.
“You cannot have sustainability in good policies and governance when the person taking over from you is interested in not destroying you alone but destroying everything that you built.
“If you are a politician, note, you must have opposition as people oppose you, they are also the step you can use to go higher.”
Akpabio, however, said when politicians served with dedication, passion, confidence and with open heart, God would lift them higher.
Turning to Wike, he said he did not become the FCT Minister by chance but that the position came because of his hard work as governor of Rivers State.
Continuing, he said: “I was discussing with one of my colleagues and I told him I do not know why a man will quarrel with Wike; if he shouts while we are sitting here, by the time I get to that door he has forgotten.
“He will be the one to carry his phone and call me and say ‘when are you coming to the house for lunch?’ And he has forgotten that we quarreled and I will tell him, after the quarrel?”
Akpabio, whose remarks drew intermittent laughter from the audience, said the multitude of people at the occasion was a testimony to the quality of life that Wike lives.
Citing the Minister’s performance in the FCT, the Senate President said Wike has transformed the federal capital by building roads in different parts of the city where such were never thought possible before.
He added: “Born in tumultuous year of 1967 when the fabric of our nation was being tested in conflict, you emerged, not in the safety of calm waters but amidst the storm itself when Nigeria was just beginning the war.
“The war entered inside you, the war of transformation, the war of infrastructural renaissance and the war of love for Rivers State.
“If the Rivers people do not appreciate you, please begin to love Akwa-lbom State. We appreciate you. Niger Delta appreciates you and South-South appreciates you.
“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, appreciates your work. The Government of APC appreciates you.”
He then mocked the PDP, saying only a progressive party like the APC would honour the likes of Wike.
“The truth is that in PDP, you do not deserve a man like Wike. That is why we are all waiting to grab him so you people can continue with those who would continue to betray,” he said.
Turning to Wike, he said: “You might have chosen to arrive at a calm period but instead you came forth when Nigeria was at war.
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“It is perhaps this very fortitude that has shaped your character and had allowed you rise like an eagle, soaring high above the tempest that could defeat you.
“Your dedication to lifting communities as a governor, now as a minister, has left indelible marks on our nation’s history.
“The bridges you have constructed stand as testament to your commitment to progress and unity.
I recognised the fire within you long before when you became local government chairman of Obio-Akpor. You are indeed a great secret waiting to be unveiled; waiting for the nation to behold.
“Your contributions to the political landscape of Nigeria, especially during your days as governor, shine like a beacon of hope. Many will now say that you have done better now as minister that when you were a governor.
“As a leader of uncompromising integrity, speaking truth in every facet of life, even to higher authority, circumstances will not allow me to say all I would want to say. But one of them is ‘agreement is agreement’.
“You remind us that politics is not only about policies procedures but also about the people, about laughter, about comradeship, about remembering your friends but not forgetting your enemies and the shared joy of community and communal living.
“May this birthday, my brother, bring you as much joy as you have bestowed on many others and may you embrace even more adventures in service to our beloved country.”
I am not bothered about criticism, says Wike
Wike appreciated the NEW Associates and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Senator George Sekibo, for putting the event together, saying he was not bothered about criticism from a few people.
“For me, in life, what is important is, if you know what you want to do, and you know how you want to do it, then you go ahead. One thing that I can assure all of you here is that we will continue to make you proud.
“I will never be distracted. I will still be focused to achieve the results that Nigerians will know that Mr. President means well.
“Yes, so many people have talked about criticism. I can assure you, it is even people who inform me that people are criticising me.
“Frankly speaking, because I do not see them and I don’t hear them and I cannot reply them.
“I have told most of you, do not bother about criticism. What is important for you is to ask yourself if you are focused or you are doing what is expected of you to do.
“I tell them, the moment your enemies see that you do not listen to them and you are focused and are there to achieve results, they will be tired. And when you are being distracted, you are worried they will say yes, they have now gotten you.
“The only way that you can silence your critics is to show them your result. Show them your performance. I am happy that when we were coming last night, I saw the flyovers being painted, I said thank God, so there was work that they are now painting?
“I said thank God there was work that is being painted now. I have said if you are not important, nobody will talk about you.
“So, the support Mr. President is giving to me is enough for me. I do not require anything.
“The moment I know that my Mr. President is happy, the moment I know that my family is happy, the moment I know that my friends and associates are happy, what is my own? I just go on.
“If you cannot match up with what we have done, why not come out and say look, let the truth be told.
“I do not see anybody that will intimidate or threaten me. I have not seen that person. At the appropriate time we will talk politics. Now is for projects and projects in the FCT.”
We are standing by you, PDP tells Wike
Speaking at the event, the Deputy National Chairman (South) of PDP, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja, said despite the antics of some persons with entitlement mentality in the party, majority of the people in PDP love and appreciate the minister.
He said such party members are with “one of the most committed and most loyal party leaders ever produced in PDP.”
He said: “Our mentor and principal that we are celebrating today who has never left PDP for a day is one of the most committed, most loyal party leaders we have ever had. He has done well and he is doing well and we wish him well in future endeavors.
“He is somebody who believes in equity, justice and fairness. Remember before the 2023 election, he sang a famous song.
“I used to follow my leader and Osun State Governor Seyi Makinde. Our leader, I still remember the G5 and I am telling you that many people in PDP appreciate you.
“We love you because you are always there for us not only when you need anything unlike some leaders who come running to us when they need something.
“We know you and we always love you and we appreciate you. Some people believe in entitlement mentality. We will always stand by you because you led the G5. You are a man of integrity, a man of honour and you are a performer.”
Arapaja, however, disagreed with some of the remarks made by Akpabio against PDP and wondered why the Senate President whom he described as a product of the PDP could attack his party of origin.
He said: “I am surprised when someone who is a product of the PDP will come here and say those things. I do not understand.
“Nobody can dispute the fact that the present Senate President was a governor of Akwa-lbom State under the PDP, and he performed.”
In the lecture, Prof Ihonvbere said Nigeria’s main problems of insecurity, unemployment, poor infrastructure, corruption, religious and ethnic tensions as well as poor educational facilities were not beyond resolution.
“Our problems can be solved. The Nigerian ruling class in fraction will be ashamed that it has not managed any of our problems successfully.
“We have created millions and billions but their legacies are hardly sustained. It is not lack of resources but management. Fixing Nigeria is not rocket science. It requires focus and staying the cause.”
The Chairman of the occasion and former President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), OCJ Okocha, described Wike as a superlative performer with a Midas touch.
“This is a man that we have given to Nigeria and we are proud to be his friends and associates.
“I want to thank us all for organising this public lecture in his honour. Knowing him, he would have opposed it, but I think the pressure on him was too much that his friends won the day and said let us honour you,” he said.
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