Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State has been made fun of by Lere Olayinka, the Special Adviser on Public Communication to Minister Nyesom Wike of the Federal Capital Territory, or FCT.
Olayinka claimed that since the Supreme Court’s decision, Fubara is already seeing ghosts.
He recalled that former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose had cautioned Fubara against opposing Wike.
Fayose had cautioned Fubara not to look beyond what was expected of him during his inauguration following his election in 2023.
Olayinka brought up Fayose’s caution after the Supreme Court ruling that halted federal funding for Rivers State until certain actions were taken.
Olayinka posted on his Facebook page: “He is seeing spirits already. Fayose warned him.”
Recall that the Accountant General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were instructed by the Supreme Court to cease providing the Rivers State government with their allotment payments.
According to the verdict, it will remain in effect until Fubara ceases all of his unlawful, illegal, and unconstitutional actions.
When the House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, enacts a legitimate Appropriation Law, the Supreme Court orders that monies be released to Fubara’s government.
The 27 members of the Rivers House of Assembly were directed to immediately resume their duties by the Supreme Court in a ruling issued by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim on Friday.
Citing violations of Section 150 of the Electoral Act, the Supreme Court also dismissed the 23 LGA chairs.
The elections that brought in the new chairs on October 5, 2024, were deemed null and void.
Twenty-seven MPs left the People’s Democratic Party to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of the confrontation between Wike and Fubara.
Due to their defection, their seats were declared vacant, and Fubara’s supporters later ousted Amaewhule as Speaker.
In the meanwhile, while the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, or RSIEC, organizes new elections, Fubara has instructed the Heads of Local Government Administration, or HLGAs, to take interim leadership of the 23 local government councils.
Additionally, Fubara gave the departing local government chairmen until Monday, March 3, 2025, to legally transfer their duties to the HLGAs.
He made his remarks Sunday at a statewide broadcast from Port Harcourt’s Government House.
He responded to the Supreme Court’s decision by stating that the elimination of caretaker arrangements in Nigeria’s local government system made his action inevitable.
