Fatimah Otunsanya
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said he would not have attained office without the support of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, declaring that the former governor “discovered” him and gave him the platform to contest.
Fubara spoke on Friday while receiving the New Telegraph Man of the Year Award, where he dedicated the honour to Wike despite the lingering rift between them.
The governor said Wike’s backing brought him into political limelight and shaped his emergence as governor.
“I do not care how you interpret it or misinterpret it. I also dedicate this award to somebody who also discovered me not minding the situation, the Honourable Minister of the FCT, my oga, Nyesom Wike,” he said.
“Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here as governor. He discovered me and it’s a discovery that gave me this loudness. Thank you for everything.
“I also dedicate this award to the people of Rivers State that have shown support, quietness and maturity that has brought us this far.”
Fubara and Wike have been embroiled in a prolonged political dispute in the state.
Fubara, a former Accountant-General of Rivers State, was widely regarded as Wike’s political protégé ahead of the 2023 governorship election, emerging as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with the backing of the former governor.
Their relationship, however, later degenerated into a political crisis that polarised the Rivers State House of Assembly and triggered a fierce struggle over the control of the state’s political structure.
The dispute, which drew national attention, was eventually resolved following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, who brokered peace between the two camps, restoring relative calm to the state’s political environment.