“No Governor Can Endure the Insults I Took from Wike’s Camp” – Fubara

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has firmly justified his decision to present the 2025 budget to just three lawmakers, stating that the 27 members of the State House of Assembly who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) have permanently lost their legislative seats.

Speaking in Port Harcourt on Thursday after signing the N1.1 trillion budget into law, Fubara declared that there was no path for the defecting lawmakers, loyal to former governor Nyesom Wike, to return to the Assembly. The governor, locked in a political standoff with Wike, expressed that he had endured enough provocations and would no longer tolerate further insults from the former governor’s camp.

“There is no governor in Nigeria who can take the kind of insult I took from those people,” Fubara stated. “As it stands now, our major target is the interest of Rivers State, and we will continue to defend the integrity of governance. As far as I am concerned, we have moved on.”

Fubara dismissed allegations of a factional Assembly, emphasizing that the three-member Assembly led by Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo remains the sole legitimate legislative body. He likened the defectors’ actions to embarking on a doomed journey, insisting that their efforts to return were futile.

The governor also pledged to prioritize the interests of Rivers State while maintaining governance integrity. He thanked the Assembly and his administration for their cooperation and commitment, underscoring plans to build on the administration’s achievements in sectors such as education, health, and agriculture.

In his remarks, Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo praised Fubara’s administration for fostering growth across infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social welfare. Oko-Jumbo assured the governor of the legislature’s continued partnership to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers State.

Meanwhile, Rivers APC Chairman Chief Tony Okocha has condemned Fubara’s decision to present the budget to the three lawmakers, describing the move as illegal and a breach of judicial rulings. Okocha cited a 2024 court judgment mandating budget presentations to the full Assembly, including the 27 lawmakers aligned with Wike.

“It is unimaginable that a governor with such a rich background in finance and governance would sidestep legal processes,” Okocha said, calling the presentation to the three-member Assembly illegitimate.

He criticized Fubara’s leadership as divisive and confrontational, accusing the governor of fueling discord instead of extending an olive branch for peace in the new year.

Despite the ongoing disputes, Fubara reiterated his administration’s commitment to fulfilling promises made to Rivers people, ensuring progress across key sectors, and defending the state’s interests.