Former Head of Service of Rivers State, Dr George Nweke has accused suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of masterminding the burning down of the State House of Assembly complex as well as sponsoring militants to destroy oil pipelines in the State.
Nweke, who said that he was appointed as the Head of Service by Governor Fubara, said that he was sacked neither was he pressured to resign, but willingly retire from Service from the depth of my heart.
He said that as an insider and a key player in the administration of Governor Fubara, it would be unfair for him to keep silent and not address some key factors that have affected or will affect the State if they continue on such trajectory.
He said; “I want to tell Rivers people today that the house of assembly complex in Moscow Road was clearly brought down by Edison Ehie under the instructions of Gov Siminalayi Fubara, I challenge him to an open confrontation and I will throw more light on it.
“A day after that incident, I almost resigned but I was very scared because I know the power of a sitting governor and he knew that I am aware of the whole plan and that I am discomforted with the unconscionable act and deliberate posture of innocence and mien of a sheep.
“Another attempt was also made to destroy the residential quarters of the house of assembly members if not for the press conference that was made there by Rivers youths, Rivers elders and National Assembly members, that would have been another barbaric demolition in Rivers State.
“I came to realize that they actually wanted to demolish that second building because after some weeks, he personally told me that if he knew early he would have gone to pull down their hall before visiting the residential quarters of the assembly and that he didn’t actually know that they had such a beautiful hall were they are using now for their sitting.
“I was shocked and I asked myself how could a man that wants to lead his people be destroying his state assets and wasting public funds on a needless ego fight,” he said.
Nweke thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the swift intervention in Rivers State crisis especially on the state of emergency that was declared and assented to by the National Assembly, adding that if not for the intervention of the President, Nigeria would have faced the worst economic sabotage and Rivers State would have been up in flames.
In the words of Nweke; “I want to advice some key stakeholders who has (sic) condemned the state of emergency made by the President and confirmed by the National Assembly to retract their statements. I also understand that they are only seeing the surface. If the President did not take proactive step, no one knows who would have been affected by the sinister plans that were cooking.
“One of the factors that got me removed was when governor Fubara told me that they will use the Ijaws to decide who will become the next president of Nigeria and I asked him how will that work? Is it by votes or by what means?
“He clearly told me that he is the chief security officer of Rivers State and his brother is in charge of Bayelsa State and all the pipelines are under their care that at the appropriate time they will tell the boys what to do and fund was not an issue.
“That was why when he made that statement in his public function that “I will tell the boys what to do at the appropriate time” I knew something was up and perhaps the time was near.
“He boasted to be the “David that will bring down the Goliath of Rivers State.” That he has the backing of the cream-de-la cream in the state. The likes of Dr. Peter Odili and family promised to use their contacts in the judiciary including some members of their University Council to break new ground for him.
“The plan was to start from non-Ijaw speaking areas to destroy oil facilities to remove attention from the Ijaw and make it have a statewide look. The Ogoni, Oyibo, Ahoda areas were to be bombed first before the Ijaw zones.
“This would have brought down the government of President Tinubu and usher in a new President from the coalition of political parties with a Vice President from the Ijaws.
“The media was to be captured by paying heavily for airtime and retaining the social media influencers and known social critics in their payroll. I am not unaware of what this revelation means but I am doing this to free my conscience and warn those innocent persons that are used to sway public sentiment, that there is more than meet the eyes in the Rivers matter.
“Sometime, I sleep over in government house but I started being uncomfortable when Gov. Bala Mohammed and some other stakeholders started nocturnal visits to Rivers State. I recalled after one of such visits he told me that he will support Bala Mohammed for president or any other northerner. That discussion are ongoing. Though, I was not bothered about who he support but I was more concerned about the quantum of state resources that he releases to theses visitors at each visit,” he said.
Nweke called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), to call the Chairman of the Rivers State chapter to order to avoid politicizing Labour, adding that he was privy to several private meetings between the Governor and the Labour leader in the state and the largesse that accompanied each meeting to compromise the Labour Union.
The former Head of Service of Rivers State said that more worrisome was the several meetings between the governor, his chief of staff and some militant leaders, saying that the details of which he was not privy to since he was not allowed into the meetings.
Nweke said that Rivers people and indeed Nigerians are the beneficiary of the declaration of state of emergency rule in Rivers State and not Gov. Fubara or the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
He called on President Tinubu to urge the Sole Administrator to step up his guards and be very vigilant, saying that he was aware of the sinister arrangement and dastardly plans to continue to hatch their plans if not put in check, adding that this accounted for the organized media condemnations and seeming public outcry against the President and National Assembly.
