APC tells Gov Fubara to resign over incompetence

Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has asked Sir Siminalayi Fubara to resign his position as Governor of Rivers State over incompetence and failure to govern the state.

The Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the APC in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha who made the call while briefing Journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, said Fubara has nothing to show for his nine months in office as governor.

Okocha, during the briefing which he tagged; “The reign of a decrepit leadership in Rivers State,” lambasted the governor for refusing to hold a State Executive Council, SEC, meeting for the past 3 months, and for not working hand-in-gloove with the State House of Assembly and local government council chairmen in the state, thereby, running the state as a one man show.

He described the present administration of being clueless, visionless and not having direction. Adding that the governor has deviated from the mandate of consolidation and continuity mantra which he said, brought him (Fubara) on board as governor.

He said, “Ex-raying the Rivers State Government, vis-a-vis its activities for the past nine months that we have a governor, Governor Siminalayi Joseph Fubara, sitting on the rostrum and after critical examination of the activities of this government, we have come to the conclusion that it is decrepit, it is clueless, visionless, directionless, it is also rudderless, and we cannot speak so in the comfort of our homes.

“So as APC in Rivers State, we are here to condemn in absolute terms the inactivity of government in Rivers State, and we demand that the governor and his assignees apologize to the people of Rivers State for disappointing them.

“After the 10th of December 2023, when the Governor arranged the approval a kangaroo budget implementation, he has not held a State Executive Council, SEC, meeting till the end of February, 2024.

“It means that for the Governor to refuse to call a SEC meeting, it means that he is ruling the state by his own whims and caprices. The state has become a one man state. He is now a totalitarian, and he wants us as a party to sit down and watch that.

“The Governor is not in sinc with the legislative arm (the house of assembly) because 27 out of 30 of them, are members of the APC and he is refusing to work with them, in keeping with the theory of separation of powers.

“The Governor is also going to affront local government chairmen, who are also members of his party, the PDP. We learnt he has withheld the allocation of the local government council. He stays at the comfort of his home to dictate to them what they should pay local government workers. He has no such right.

“The Governor is also in breach of the constitution of the state concerning the conduct of local government elections for not putting any plans in place to hold an election into local government councils.”

Okocha also questioned what the governor is doing with the state resources, since he has no visible project to show after nine months.

He alleged that the governor is doing nothing to cushion the economic hardship on Rivers people just like his counterparts in other states are doing to alleviate the sufferings of their citizens.

He said the governor, instead of coming up with short and long term measures to reduce the pains of the hardship on the people, he is busy squandering state funds for unnecessary ‘thanksgiving service/rallies’ that gulps not less that 150 million naira across the 23 local government areas of state, on his affirmation by the Supreme Court as the dully elected governor of Rivers State.

“The Governor was sworn in on the 29th of May, 2023, and he rode on the plans of consolidation and continuity of the Nyesom Ezenwo Wike led government. But unfortunately, in less than 3 months after he assumed office, the governor deviated completely from that vision.

“The only visible project ongoing under the present government, is the Port Harcourt Ring which was conceptualised by the administration of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi during his first tenure.

“Rivers State ranks third in Nigeria interms of FAAC after Delta and Akwa Ibom States. Rivers State ranks second interms of Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, after Lagos State. So what has happened to our monies between May 29, 2023 to February 2024. what Projects has he commissioned?

“The only thing that is unique about this government is the jamboree and squandering of Rivers funds by the governor of the state, in the gap of every week for thanksgiving service for the 23 LGAs of Rivers State and the 319 wards. The question to ask is, what are they thanking God for. What is the essence of the thanksgiving in Rivers State that gulps as much as 150 million naira per LGA? And they will tell you that they are thanking God for supreme Court victory. Who was after the governor, and what was his case at the supreme Court?