Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a senior APC stalwart, has alleged a brewing scheme to prevent Siminalayi Fubara from reclaiming his seat as Governor of Rivers State after the current emergency rule comes to an end.
In a strongly worded statement made in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Eze condemned what he described as a “deliberate mission to peddle lies” against the suspended governor.
“This will be a shame to us all if we keep quiet and allow this evil to sail through,” he said.
Eze accused loyalists of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, of being behind a failed narrative meant to tarnish Fubara’s public image.
He referenced a press conference held by former Rivers State Head of Service, George Nwaeke, who had linked Governor Fubara to the fire incident at the State Assembly Complex and the wider political unrest in the state.
During his briefing, Nwaeke had claimed that Fubara, through Edison Ehie and Chijioke Ihunwo, was behind the arson and the ongoing tensions, and he commended the President for taking drastic action.
However, the narrative took a dramatic turn when Nwaeke’s wife publicly contradicted him, alleging he had travelled to Abuja at the invitation of Mr. Ogidi, a Wike ally and current commissioner at the National Population Commission.
She later revealed that Nwaeke resigned because he refused to endorse a fabricated $15 billion fraud allegation against the governor.
“She said her husband’s failure to sign the document to falsely indict the Governor of swindling $15 billion led to his resignation,” Eze quoted, applauding her intervention in restoring their family’s reputation.
Eze further criticized the FCT Minister for undermining peace initiatives in the state, suggesting that Wike is “doing everything to truncate all efforts at reconciliation and stability in Rivers State, contrary to the directive of his own principal, President Bola Tinubu.”
According to him, “With the unhealthy vendetta of George Nwaeke against the Governor, facts abound that the Sole Administrator has a new mandate: to concoct a floodgate of falsehood against Gov. Fubara with full media support, in a bid to stop the Governor from coming back to the Brick House.”
He urged President Tinubu to disregard false narratives, saying, “Mr President must stand on the path of truth… those who have declared themselves enemies of the state are hellbent on stifling Nigeria’s nascent democracy under the Tinubu administration.”