• Vows nobody will remove any House of Assembly member
• Says backing Fubara was mistake he would correct
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, stormed Rivers State yesterday with a warning to his political opponents that their illegal acts stand no chance of success in the ongoing crisis in the state.
Wike, the immediate past governor of the state, is currently locked in a stand-off with his successor and estranged godson, Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking on the heels of the injunction obtained on Friday by the three pro-Fubara members of the State House of Assembly barring the 25 pro-Wike legislators from sitting, the minister said no injunctions obtained at 2am or 4am would stop the law and due process from taking its course.
And from the governor’s camp yesterday came a statement that nobody should underrate him.
His Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, declared that the governor has what it takes to teach his opponents political lessons.
“If they like, they can go to anybody by 2am or 4am to get injunction. The law will take its course. We must follow due process”, Wike said at a civic reception for Chief George Thompson Sekibo at Ogu-Bolo in celebration of his 36 years in public service.
He also said, in response to a recent statement by Fubara, that he has not asked anyone to worship him.
The governor had said he was not prepared to worship anyone.
Wike said: “It is not easy to be a public officer and the people decide to honour you. Let me thank the Ogu council of chiefs and the entire community who insisted that their son should be honoured.
“You have refused politics to divide you. It shows that you have the interest of your community in mind. I came because I respect people who appreciate what God has used people to do for them.
“God uses people to help others. So when you have been helped, you appreciate them. God will know you have appreciated him. Nobody can worship man. All of us believe that it is only God we will worship.
“As politicians, we appreciate people who have helped us. When I came to ask you to support me, you supported me. Did I worship you? Did I ask you to worship me?
“If you had not supported me, I would not have been where I am. Did you tell me to worship you? So where does the issue of worship come from?”
The FCT Minister admitted that he made a mistake in his judgment of Fubara and asked the people of the LGA and his political family to forgive him about it.
He promised to correct the mistake at the appropriate time.
Wike vowed to keep making his detractors angry so they would continue to make mistakes.
His words: “I want to say this clearly: in life, we make mistakes.
“I have made a mistake. I own it up and I say God forgive me. I have said all of you forgive me. But we will correct it at the appropriate time.
“I am human. I am bound to make mistakes. So forgive me for making a wrong judgment. So nobody should kill.”
Wike told his supporters in the state assembly not to succumb to intimidation, saying: “Don’t be afraid. Nobody will remove you as lawmakers.
“Most of you don’t understand. This is our work. Our business is to make them to fear. That is what I am doing.
“We will make them to be angry every day and they will continue to make mistakes.”
The former governor said he would continue to maintain peace in the state and called on his supporters to pursue peace.
He said: “So don’t worry yourselves. We won’t give money to anybody to go and buy arms to kill anybody. I have maintained peace and I want to beg all of you to continue to maintain peace.
“Nobody will tell me that I can’t live in my house or not go to my house. But all of you should maintain the peace. Follow law and due process. We will get to the end
“As you see me, I stand straight. I think well. I came with Senator Magnus Abe. I work with people that have brains.
“In politics, when people with brains agree they disagree. Those, who don’t know what to do said they would bring me down. Who born them? They are nowhere. When you are in charge, you are in charge.
“Everything will calm down. All these people running around, they would come down. Boma worked for his appointment, he showed loyalty and commitment, and that is why God placed him there. Don’t worry.
“Let me also advise you: forget about how they abuse us. You must be alive for people to abuse you. If you are dead, will they abuse you?
“At the appropriate time when the results will be announced, we will know who is who. We have defeated them severally.
“Some of them ran to Abuja, but when I went to Abuja, they ran back here. Have you not seen the way Abuja is moving? No amount of propaganda can help you.
“Ogu people have shown loyalty and I want to thank you.”
Reflecting on his political journey, Wike said: “In 2014 to 2015, we didn’t have anybody. I came here and you said you would work for it and you worked for it. We had nobody in government. Did we not win? What are you afraid of?
“While in a government I had a problem, I had a federal government that was hostile to me, did we not succeed? They are giving excuses. If you know, you know. When somebody cannot do something, say you cannot do it.
“At the appropriate time, people will speak of the projects in the state. They will tell you who did what. It is not people who come now and claim what they didn’t do.
“Ogu, continue to support your people. Your politicians have done well. Sekibo has done well.
“Don’t mind these buccaneers; I know how to handle them. Leave them for me. They have been my children. I will continue to handle them. Let’s work together.”
The former governor added: “It is not easy to be in power and begin to give excuses. You continue to run away from promises you made to people. Look at all the council chairmen, the assembly members; these were people I spoke to in the interest of all of us.
“They all responded, but today somebody said they are nobody. Will you accept that? Assembly people sat down in their various constituencies. You never brought a dime.
“I never knew you were rich; that your father was managing director of Shell before and now you are paying their school fees. It is unfortunate.
“But Ogu people, I will never abandon you. There are some chiefs I wanted to recognise as traditional rulers; their people said no. But I dared it and I did it.
“Nobody bothered to recognise the traditional rulers from 1999 down to 2014. It was me that came and recognised most of them. I did what I did because I believed it was the right thing to do. It takes he who has the balls to talk.
“Now you said you are making them first class. Who made them second class and third class before you made him first class? Be grateful for whatever God has given to you. Anywhere you are as a traditional ruler, check your conscience. Who lifted you up?
“They said the list of caretaker committee was released but it was fake. Everything is fake with them.”
At the reception were some of the minister’s associates including Senator Magnus Abe; Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Dr. Samuel Ogbuku; NDDC Director, Finance and Administration, Boma Iyayi; and his loyalists in the State House of Assembly and local governments.
