Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has vowed that he would give his successor Governor Siminalayi Fubara a free hand to manage the state affairs.
He equally said he has no intention of recommending commissioners to the Rivers governor as the latter resumes office following a six-month emergency rule imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
President Tinubu declared the emergency rule in March after a prolonged political rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Wike. Many observers had attributed the crisis, in part, to Wike’s alleged imposition of political appointees on the governor.
But speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Wike stated that he has no candidates to suggest and pledged to give the governor a free hand to manage the affairs of the oil-rich South-South state.
“I cannot go and impose anything on the governor. Why would I impose anything on the governor? Assuming I go to the governor and say, ‘I want this,’ will the state collapse? I will not (suggest commissioners for the governor) I have no candidate, and I will not.”
Wike insists that even if the Rivers governor approaches him for anything, he will assure him of a free hand to govern the state as he sees fit.
“Even if the governor comes to me now and says, ‘We have agreed we want to work together’ which is natural, I will say ‘Look, I give you free hand, you know how you want for the state’.
“All I would want to say is, I know what I did and what I have done to keep this thing to this level, don’t drop it, move ahead. As I speak to you, I left the state where we can compete favourably with Lagos,” he stated.
Governor Fubara was expected to resume office on Thursday, but he failed to appear at the Government House. A large crowd that had gathered in anticipation of his arrival eventually dispersed after hours of waiting.
However, Wike said that no law mandated the governor to resume exactly on the day the emergency rule ended.
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“There is no law that says he must resume work today. He is the governor, I don’t understand the way we operate. Okay, I was sworn in today but that governor for example does not mean I will go to the office tomorrow.
“You don’t know what my programmes are, you don’t know what the governor has scheduled to do, you don’t know where he is,” he said.
