You lied, Rivers govt tells resigned Wike’s loyalists
Governor Siminalaye Fubara
• Ohanaeze tasks FCT minister, Fubara on peace
Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, has dismissed claims by the resigned Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the State, Justice, Prof. Zachueus Adangor, that Governor Siminalayi Fubara interfered with his duties by directing him not to defend, oppose or appear in suits instituted against him.
He explained that the ex-commissioner did not only quit office on account of being redeployed, but his excuse for leaving was false and baseless. Johnson stated that Adangor should have raised the allegation before his redeployment.
He spoke yesterday during a live programme in Port Harcourt. His words: “The claims by the ex-Commissioner of Justice are ‘fallacy of hasty generation’. He is not saying the full truth. He came back in January as a commissioner, and we are just in April. At the last Executive Council meeting we had on Tuesday last week, the former Commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu, who also resigned, was the one who moved the motion.
“The person that was not in that meeting was the Commissioner for Justice. He obtained an excuse, but in all, the governor has the right to hire and fire. If I should take the public opinion, the duo only resigned just because they were reassigned to other ministries.” Johnson also disagreed with Kamalu on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
The immediate past Commissioner of Finance had claimed that the policy framework he initiated led to the steady rise in the IGR. The governor, last week, stated that the IGR grew from about N11 billion under the Nyesom Wike administration to between N26 billion and N27 billion in about one year of his tenure.
Speaking further, Johnson stated that the state is not borrowing money, yet executing several projects across the three senatorial districts.
“The former Commissioner for Finance, before he left, had acknowledged in his earlier writings that there is an increase in the state’s IGR and kudos to the state government. The only difference is what the government said, and what he thinks or feels led to the increase.
“But I had expected him to put a finger on how much or what percentage of the rise that he has experienced,” Johnson added.
BESIDES, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has appealed to the warring factions to allow peace reign.
He appealed yesterday while fielding questions from journalists in Owerri. Iwuanyanwu urged the parties to resolve their misunderstanding amicably, noting that the overall interest of Rivers State, the eastern region and Nigeria should be pivotal.
He said the Pan-Igbo socio-economic group was uncomfortable with the disturbing development. Iwuanyanwu wondered why the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Governor Fubara could not resolve their differences regarding the progress of Rivers State.
While stating the economic importance of Port Harcourt as a commercial heartbeat of Eastern Nigeria, the elder statesman added that any problem that affects it or Rivers State would have ripple effects on the entire region.
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