At a time when other governors are creatively tackling hardship in their respective states, Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has again manifested extreme lawlessness and of executive rascality by elevating an ex-militant to a first class traditional ruler.
A statement issued and signed by the coordinator of Concerned Rivers People, CRP, Davidson Daniel, on Thursday states that:
“This singular development clearly confirms that the governor is bereft of ideas as he considered elevating a former warlord, Tom Ateke, to a first class traditional ruler, something more important while other governors are thinking of solutions to combat hunger in their domains.
“It is said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Fubara’s power drunkenness is the only reason why he woke up one morning with the thought of elevating an ex-militant’s stool being uppermost in his heart
“He has followed up the condemnable action by presenting a Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the ex-militant as a first-class traditional ruler.
“At the presentation, he shamelessly admitted that : “We are at a crossroads in our state where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a lifetime. So, for now, be one of those people who will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“Talking about liberation, Fubara by himself mounted a blockade against himself when, after three months in office, he exposed himself as a hungry wolf by fighting all the forces that brought him to power.
“Fubara murdered peace the moment he decided to turn his back on those who transformed him from a virtual nobody to governor.
“Elevating a former warlord into a first class traditional ruler should be the last thing a serious and right-thinking governor should ever have considered at this point when the people of Rivers State are battling economic hardship and other existential challenges, and when other governors are facing up to those challenges and devising proactive solutions.
“What’s Fubara’s blueprint? It’s glaring that he has no mission in Government House other than reducing the quality of governance and impoverishing the good people of Rivers State.
“To this end, we demand that Fubara should swallow his vomit and immediately take the following steps to redeem the image of Rivers before Nigerians and in the comity of states:
1. Reverse the elevation of Tom Ateke to his earlier position as a second-rate traditional ruler.
2. Tender an unreserved apology to Rivers people over this outrageous misstep.
3. Tell Rivers people his true mission in Government House; that is, if he is truly ready to govern or whether he is in office to destroy and undermine the state’s development.
4. And who are those claiming to be in a fight for liberation in a hitherto peaceful state until August 2023, when Fubara showed his true colour as an unreliable man?
“We are waiting for urgent answers to the above.
A stitch in time saves nine.