THE minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has challenged his successor, Siminalayi Fubara, to publish the debt he owed during his tenure as the state governor.
Wike threw the challenge at Fubara during a chat with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, April 2.
Before becoming the FCT’s minister, Wike served as the governor of the oil-rich South-South state from May 2015 to May 2023.
“I see other states talking about debt. I say publish the debt I left in the bank. There are two banks, Zenith bank and Access bank,Yes, it is not hidden, how much was I owing?” Wike taunted.
Reacting to the allegation that he is trying to control Fubara, whom he supported to be governor, Wike said he had only been trying to maintain his political relevance in his home state.
“Am I from here? Am I from Abuja? I should not go home? I should not oil my political machinery,?” he responded.
On the bone of contention between him and the governor, Wike accused Fubara of treating the Rivers State House of Assembly members “as his boys”.
The minister also revealed that he no longer enjoys a smooth relationship with the former governor of the state, Peter Odili.
Wike had previously referred to Odili, the governor of Rivers from May 1999 to May 2007, as his political father and leader at several public events.
He said, “As it is today, politically, we don’t have a good relationship,” Wike said of Odili.
The minister claimed that despite their political differences, he still considered Odili a father figure.
He did not specify what he meant by “political differences.”
The issue between Wike and Odili might not be unconnected to the threat of impeachment against Fubara by the state House of Assembly.
Wike further described some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders who had declared their support for Fubara as “political vampires.”
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyer