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Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has said his successor, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, made critical errors by attempting to govern alone and building his own political structure too early after assuming office.
Wike made the remarks during a media chat in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
“In politics you have to be careful. There are those who want you to succeed and make a name. The opportunity that you have been given, not everybody that has that opportunity. There are those who are not happy who don’t want you to be there, and you have to be very careful,” Wike said.
“Remember, before I handed over to Governor Fubara, we did a church service, and I did say that you have been elected. Few days you will be sworn in, Now what do you want to achieve? See where I have stopped.
“My thinking is that we do need to compete with Lagos. We have laid the foundation, he (Fubara) should be able to continue from there, we will give you all the necessary support.”
The FCT minister expressed shock that Fubara began constructing his own political network within 100 days of taking office.
He said this showed the governor had undermined those who supported him and the political structure that brought him to power.
Credit: The Nation Newspaper
Wike said he had laid a foundation for Rivers to compete with Lagos in terms of infrastructure and had expected Fubara to build on it.
He cited the Port Harcourt Ring Road project and 12 flyovers completed during his tenure as achievements he wanted his successor to consolidate.
He said Fubara’s early missteps had widened the development gap between Rivers and Lagos.
“Yes, he tried to do it by himself and he wanted to set up his own structure as against the structure that built him. In fact it did not take up to 100 days and we saw it,” Wike said.
“We said something must be fundamentally wrong. Forget about people who say you were asking him for money. You know one thing in politics is that the moment you disagree on an issue, the only thing you can use to get the support of the people is that they are asking me for money.”
