Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state has stated that he is the only governor in Nigeria that a local government chairman can abuse without suffering any repercussion.
Mr Fubara disclosed this on Monday, as he swore in Danagogo Iboroma, as the state Attorney General, and announced plans to set up a panel to probe the state’s previous administrations, including the immediate past government of Nyesom Wike.
The incumbent governor and his predecessor, who is now the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been engaging in a tussle over the political structures of the state.
Highlighting how the feud between both of them has led to insults and sabotage of his government by politicians in the state loyal to Mr Wike, the governor said, “I am the only governor in the whole federation where local government chairman will come and abuse me, and I take it, but I wish them well.”
His comment was in reference to the chairperson of Ikwerre LGA, Samuel Nwanosike, an ally of the minister, who was seen in a viral video on his official X handle in January, describing Mr Fubara as a “foolish and naive governor…he’s not a mumu governor but a foolish governor.”
The governor also responded to a comment by Alabo George-Kelly, his former commissioner for works, who on Sunday, mocked him saying, “The governor for instance would have been a level 14 civil servant in the ministry of finance if not for Wike that made him a DFA, a permanent secretary and an accountant-general, and then a governor.”
In reaction however, the governor said, “If in 2010, I was Chief Accountant, Level 13, those of you who know the civil service, where will I be before 2023?Because you want to impress your paymaster, you talk carelessly. I won’t reduce myself to that kind of talk.
He also replied to the FCT minister, who on Sunday, apologised to Rivers people for making a mistake in choosing Mr Fubara as his successor, and assured that he’ll correct the mistake at the appropriate time.
“I wish them well because even if it is a mistake, by the special grace of God, I am here today. God does not make mistakes. And let me also appeal to them, let them continue to make mistakes,” the governor replied.
