Rivers Political Unrest: Fubara is not an Ijaw man, says Wike

Former Rivers State Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has sparked controversy by stating that Governor Siminalayi Fubara is not an Ijaw man.

Wike made this claim on Saturday while addressing the Kalabari people at a Thanksgiving Service and Civic Reception held in his honor in Abalama, Asari-Toru Local Government Area.

Speaking at the event, Wike told the gathering: *“Let nobody deceive you that the governor is Ijaw; it’s not true. All of you are Ijaw, is it not? Are you benefiting? So what is this? Politics is interest.

“We must come up to say people must not behave and treat people, use and dump them, and then you say it’s politics. That politics has to stop.

“So, let nobody deceive you. When they go and collect money at the back, they will tell you, ‘let’s go and do this.’ Ask him, that one you collected last night, did you put my own there?”*

Wike had previously asserted that no Ijaw candidate could have won the Rivers State governorship without his support. However, he later stated that the Ijaw ethnic group is not the majority in any Niger Delta state except Bayelsa.

Additionally, Wike has been quoted as saying that the Opobo clan, where Governor Fubara hails from, does not represent the “real” Ijaw people.