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𝑩𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒙-𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒂 𝑻𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒖

Gabriel Tomoni’s recent broadcast attacking the Rivers Ijaw Peoples’ Congress (RIPCO) is not only disappointing, it is deeply misdirected, emotional, and constitutionally hollow.
RIPCO did not issue its statement out of malice, betrayal, or hostility to the Ijaw Nation.

We spoke from history, from facts, and from a deep understanding of political reality; three things that cannot be replaced by ethnic chest-beating.
Let us be clear from the outset:

Nyesom Wike is not an enemy of the Ijaw Nation. Any attempt by the INC or IYC to frame him as such is intellectually dishonest and historically false.

𝑶𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒋𝒂𝒘 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 – 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔, 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

Since becoming Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has facilitated over 20 federal appointments for Ijaw sons and daughters; the highest concentration of Ijaw federal appointments within a single political season in our history.

This is not propaganda. These appointments are verifiable in public records across federal boards, agencies, commissions, and ministerial structures.
For the avoidance of doubt:

Even during the presidency of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Ijaw Nation did not record this volume of strategic federal placements.

Influence in Nigerian politics is measured by access, appointments, and leverage, not by slogans and street rhetoric.

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒓, 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅?

As Governor of Rivers State, Wike deliberately zoned virtually all critical power blocs of government to Ijaw interests, including:

– Key security-sensitive offices
– Revenue and infrastructure-driven ministries
– Strategic political and administrative appointments
– This was not accidental. It was intentional inclusion.

Yet today, the same man is being branded an “enemy” by those who benefited most from his decisions.

– That is not activism.
– That is political amnesia.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 24-𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕; 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑭𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝒕?

Let history speak plainly.

After Dr. Peter Odili, Ijaws endured a 24-year governorship drought in Rivers State, dominated largely by Ikwere political succession.

Even Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, despite being Ijaw, and married to an Ijaw woman, could not produce an Ijaw Governor in Rivers State.

Why?
Because at critical moments, Ijaw political elites (Jonathan’s) abandoned their own credible sons, including:

– Abiye Sekibo
– George Sekibo
– Sampson Parker
– Tammy Danagogo
and others

They were abandoned not because they lacked competence, but because political pragmatism – not ethnic sentiment – favoured Wike as the only man capable of dismantling the Amaechi succession machine.

Those same Ijaw elites (Jonathan’s) rallied behind Wike, because they knew power respects capacity, not ancestry.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑺𝒊𝒎 𝑭𝒖𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒓, 𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝑼𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑶𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔

It was Nyesom Wike – not the IYC, not the INC – that personally took responsibility to produce an Ijaw Governor in Siminalayi Fubara after 24 years of exclusion.

He had other viable options:
– Ogoni
– Ikwere
Yet he chose Ijaw.

That decision restructured Rivers politics permanently.

Three months into office, however, Governor Fubara turned against the very political structure that brought him to power.

Call it independence if you like – but rebellion without constitutional discipline is recklessness.

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚

This is where Gabriel Tomoni and his allies have failed the Ijaw Nation.

The Rivers crisis is no longer about Wike vs Fubara.
– It is about law vs impunity.
– The Supreme Court has ruled.
– The Constitution is clear.
– A Governor cannot lawfully spend public funds without presenting a budget.
– Persistent refusal constitutes gross misconduct.

Instead of mediating and calling their “son” to order, the INC and IYC chose ethnic bias over constitutional responsibility – openly cheering actions that undermine the rule of law.

– That is dangerous precedent.
– Today it favours an Ijaw man.
– Tomorrow it will destroy an Ijaw administration.

𝑶𝒏 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 – 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆, 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔

If the Rivers State House of Assembly is moving toward impeachment, it is not because Fubara is Ijaw.

It is because:
– Court judgments are being ignored
– Legislative authority is being undermined
– Public funds are being spent outside constitutional limits

* No ethnic organization should defend illegality.
* Ijaw dignity is not protected by lawlessness.

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑹𝑰𝑷𝑪𝑶 𝑻𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑰𝒕𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆

Rivers Ijaw Peoples’ Congress has a simple, principled position:
– Yes, Fubara is our son.
– But the Constitution is superior to bloodlines.
– Wike stood by the law, the Assembly, and institutional order.
– We owe gratitude, not war, to the man who restored Ijaw relevance in Rivers politics.

• Politics is memory.
• Politics is reciprocity.
• Politics punishes ingratitude.

If the Ijaw Nation is seen as hostile to allies after benefiting from them, other ethnic blocs will think twice before supporting an Ijaw cause in the future.

𝑨 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑻𝒐 𝑮𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝑻𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊

Gabriel Tomoni should redirect his courage.
Instead of attacking RIPCO, he should:

• Admonish Governor Fubara to obey court judgments
• Demand constitutional compliance
• Call for reconciliation, not escalation
• Defend the rule of law, not selective ethnicity
• That is leadership.

𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒐 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒀𝑪/𝑰𝑵𝑪

In three years, what tangible political capital has Governor Fubara delivered to the Ijaw Nation – locally or nationally?
Now compare that to:

– What Wike did in his first tenure as Governor
– What he is still doing today as FCT Minister
– Then answer honestly:

Who has truly proven himself a son of the Ijaw Nation – even if adopted?

𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝑴𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒊𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒚 𝑷𝒆𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔:

RIPCO stands firm.
We choose:

• Law over lawlessness
• Strategy over sentiment
• Gratitude over ingratitude
• The future of the Ijaw Nation over temporary emotional applause
• Wisdom is knowing when to fight and when not to destroy the ladder that lifted you.

• Rivers Ijaw Peoples’ Congress is on the right side of history.

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Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Sunday Steve Karimi has announced an annual scholarship for children of one of his constituents, Sunday Ojo, a.k.a. Ajaga. Ojo a prominent youth leader, community mobiliser and businessman from who hailed from Ponyan in Yagba East council area, died recently after a brief illness.

Reacting to the news of his demise, Senator Karimi who is also the Senate Committee Chairman on Services, noted that Ojo’s departure was indeed a very painful loss, not only to his family and immediate community, but to the senatorial zone as a whole. He applauded Ojo’s endeavours in community development, as a hardworking young man who pursued legitimate entrepreneurial concerns, rather than await handouts from the political class. According to him, Ojo was a notable farmer, who supported settler farmers in the community and availed them farming inputs, from his modest resources. He noted that Ojo was not predisposed to brigandage and violence which have become features of our contemporary politics in parts.

Karimi, who has been very notably committed to educational advancement in Kogi West, pledged the sum of N1.5 million annually, for the next four years, as scholarship awards for Sunday Ojo’s children in tertiary institutions. According to the Kogi West parliamentarian: “We are renowned in Kogi West and Okunland for wholesale immersion in educational pursuits. Education, as we all know, has been the fulcrum of my official and personal interventions as representative of our people over the years. Our 2025/2026 statewide scholarship will cost us N300million. This is soon after the initial N139million which we expended on scholarships for Kogi West, the previous cycle. Over the next four years, we will support the education of Sunday Ojo’s children pursuing advanced education with a cumulative N6million, at N1.5million per year.” Senator Karimi commiserated with Sunday Ojo “Ajaga’s” family and community at large, and prayed for them for the fortitude to manage the pain of his departure.

Responding on behalf of Ojo’s family and community, Engr Kayode Olagbayo, a prominent businessman and politician from Ponyan, thanked Senator Karimi for his generosity. His words: “Senator, you have by this pronouncement lifted a heavy burden off the back of Sunday Ojo’s family. He was the indisputable breadwinner of his family and his unfortunate exit would have taken a toll on the seamless education of his children. But you’ve stepped in where it truly matters, not as a politician, but as a true African father who is his brother’s keeper, especially in his absence.” Olagbayo enjoined the people of Kogi West to continue to support their elected leaders wholeheartedly as they strive through challenges to impact their constituents and communities.

*Busayo Tosin*
*Media Officer to Senator Sunday Karimi*
*Chairman, Senate Committee on Services*

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By Abdul Mahmud

The Rivers State House of Assembly last week served impeachment notices on Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu respectively. The notices and the proceedings that will ultimately ensue draw their forces from the Constitution.

Although the impeachment notices emerged from a political environment marked by prolonged institutional conflict and conduct the legislature considers inconsistent with constitutional duty, their issuance squarely falls within the lawful powers of the House of Assembly. The Constitution does not condition legislative authority on political harmony or executive approval. On the contrary, it anticipates conflict and equips the legislature with instruments to manage it within legal bounds. Impeachment serves as one such instrument, designed to restrain executive power where dialogue has failed and constitutional norms appear threatened. The presence of political tension does not taint the process. It underscores its necessity. When institutional disagreements harden into sustained obstruction or disregard for constitutional obligations, the legislature bears a duty to act.

In exercising that duty through impeachment proceedings, the House affirms its role as the guardian of constitutional order, ensuring that political disputes remain subject to law rather than resolved through force, fiat, or governance paralysis.
In a constitutional democracy, impeachment stands as a grave instrument. Its gravity does not diminish its legitimacy. The power belongs to the legislature, and its exercise calls for sober analysis rather than alarm. Rivers State has endured months of political turbulence marked by a breakdown of trust between the executive and the legislature. That breakdown did not occur in a vacuum. It followed disputes over the control of legislative business, the status of members, access to public funds, and compliance with judicial pronouncements.

The Assembly insists that the executive has acted in ways that weaken legislative authority and frustrate constitutional governance. In that charged environment, the impeachment notice signals an attempt by the legislature to reassert its constitutional place.
The 1999 Nigerian Constitution establishes a system of separation of powers anchored on mutual restraints. The legislature occupies a central position within that design. At the state level, the House of Assembly wields the authority to make laws, approve budgets, oversee public expenditure, and hold the executive to account. These powers do not depend on executive goodwill or fiat. They derive directly from the Constitution. Where the Assembly believes that the Governor or Deputy Governor has committed gross misconduct, the Constitution confers on the Assembly the power to commence impeachment proceedings. Impeachment, properly understood, functions as a constitutional safeguard. It protects the polity from executive excess and preserves the supremacy of the Constitution.

The threshold for impeachment remains high, and the process carries procedural safeguards. Notice must be served. Allegations must be stated. Investigations must follow. A panel of inquiry must be constituted. The Assembly must reach the constitutionally required majority. Each stage underscores legislative primacy in enforcing constitutional discipline within the executive arm.

The political context in Rivers State has sharpened the stakes. The House of Assembly claims that the executive has sought to govern without legislative cooperation. Allegations include attempts to bypass the Assembly in budgetary matters and to impede legislative sittings. The Constitution vests the power of appropriation in the legislature. No public funds may be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of a state without legislative authorisation. Where a Governor presents a budget to a faction or declines to present one to a duly constituted Assembly, the allegation points to a serious breach of constitutional process. Another area of concern centers on compliance with court orders.

The rule of law binds all authorities and persons. The Assembly alleges that the executive has disregarded judicial decisions relating to the functioning of the legislature and the recognition of its leadership. Disobedience to court orders strikes at the heart of constitutional governance. The Constitution envisions courts as arbiters of constitutional disputes. Executive defiance undermines legal certainty and weakens democratic institutions.