BREAKING: Akpabio Mocks Fubara, recognised Martins Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker

Akpabio Mocks Fubara, recognised Martins Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker

 

 

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has recognised Martins Amaewhule as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

 

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The Senate President questioned Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s inability to win over some of the 27 lawmakers loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike, despite having ample resources at his disposal.

 

Akpabio made this remark while launching a book on Wike. He expressed concern over the politics of betrayal and treachery, noting that such orientation affects sustainability in governance.

 

He said: “I do not know what is happening in Rivers State but I hope that the successor to Wike realises the fact that no matter how the bird flies, the legs are pointing to the ground.

 

“Something must be wrong. Today is not for politics. Today is for Nyesom Wike. But sometimes I wonder, I would never be the governor given the resource of Rivers State and then I disagree with my House of Assembly and I am not able to poach at least one member out of the other group. If I do not do that it means that there is something wrong with my political philosophy.

 

“I do not care what people say, we must try to stop this politics of betrayal, and politics of treachery because it does not allow for good succession.

 

Also, in a subtle yet scathing remark, Akpabio took a swipe at Fubara and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the birthday celebration of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Friday.

 

Akpabio, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event, mocked Fubara’s handling of the ongoing political crisis in the state.

 

The lecture, titled “Pragmatic Strides of a Visionary Leader and Contemporary Issues of Society,” attracted thousands of Wike’s loyalists, friends, and associates.

 

The event, organised by the NEW Associates, a new political movement coined from the initials of the minister’s names, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, provided a platform for Akpabio to remind Fubara of the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the legislature.

 

Akpabio recognised Martins Amaewhule as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and emphasized that every wise governor or president must find a way to work closely with the leadership of the legislature.

 

Akpabio, who spoke from experience as a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, noted that a governor could only be hurt by the House of Assembly.

 

He advised Fubara to fashion out ways to work with the Speaker, just as he did during his tenure.

 

He said: “For those of you, who may not understand politics, we were taught that the parliament can turn a woman into a man and a man into a woman. As a governor my greatest fear was my House of Assembly.

 

“So because of that I never travelled anywhere without my Speaker. Any time I didn’t see him for a day I would send somebody to his house to invite him to come and have a launch with me and I used ideas to look at his face to know whether he was happy with me or not.

 

“The only place that can hurt a governor is the House of Assembly and no court or democracy can stop that from happening. Any President that wants to survive like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must hold the speaker and the Senate President very closely the way he is holding us.

 

“Recently he conferred on us GCON, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, whether he loved it or not he did it. He muscled the two Chambers together”.

 

Akpabio also observed that the lecture delivered by Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, failed to address the critical issue of sustainability.

 

 

He said: “Prof Julius, in everything you said here, the word that was missing was ‘sustainability’.

 

“You cannot have sustainability in good policies and governance when the person taking over from you is interested in not destroying you alone but destroying everything that you built. If you are a politician, note, you must have opposition as people oppose you, they are also the step you can use to go higher”.

 

Akpabio, however, said when politicians served with dedication, passion, confidence and with open heart God would eventually lift them higher.

 

On his part, Wike, who appreciated the NEW Associates and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Senator George Sekibo, for putting the event together, said he was not bothered about the ongoing criticisms of a few people.

 

He said: “For me, in life, what is important is, if you know what you want to do, and you know how you want to do it, then you go ahead. One thing that I can assure all of you here is that we will continue to make you proud.

 

“I will never be distracted. I will still be focused to achieve the results that Nigerians will know that Mr President means well. Yes, so many people have talked about criticism, I can assure you, it is even people who inform me that people are criticising me. Frankly speaking, because I do not see them and I don’t hear them and I can not reply them”.

 

Wike, who said he was humbled by the crowd that identified with him, said he was satisfied with the support of President Tinubu.

 

He said all the criticisms were designed by his detractors to distract him adding that the only way to silence the critics was to achieve results for public interest.

 

He said: “I have told most of you, do not bother about criticisms, what is important for you is to ask yourself if you are focused or you are doing what is expected of you to do. I tell them, the moment your enemies see that you do not listen to them and you are focused and are there to achieve results they will be tired and when you are being distracted, you are worried they will say yes, they have now gotten you.

 

“The only way that you can silence your critics, is to show them your result. Show them your performance. I am happy that when we were coming last night I saw the flyovers being painted, I said thank God, so there was work that they are now painting? I said Thank God there was work that is being painted now. I have said, if you are not important nobody will talk about you.

 

“So, the support Mr President is giving to me is enough for me. I do not require anything. The moment I know that my Mr. President is happy, the moment I know that my family is happy, the moment I know that my friends and associates are happy, what is my own? I just go on. If you cannot match up with what we have done, why not come out and say look, let the truth be told.

 

“I do not see anybody that will intimidate or threaten me. I have not seen that person. At the appropriate time we will talk politics now is for project and project in FCT”.

 

Speaking at the event, the national leadership of the PDP represented by the Deputy National Chairman, South, Taofeek Arapaja, said despite the antics of persons in the party with entitlement mentality majority of the people in PDP loved and appreciated the Minister.

 

He said the members of the party stood with Wike describing the minister as one of the most committed and most loyal party leaders ever produced in PDP.

 

He said: “Our mentor and principal that we are celebrating today who has never left PDP for a day is one of the most committed, most loyal party leaders we have ever had. He has done well and he is doing well and we wish him well in future endeavors.

 

“He is somebody, who believes in equity, justice and fairness. Remember before the 2023 election he sang a famous song. I used to follow my leader and Osun State Governor Seyi Makinde. Our leader, I still remember the G5 and I am telling you that many people in PDP appreciate you. We love you because you are always there for us not only when you need anything unlike some leaders who come running to us when they need something.

 

“We know you and we always love you and we appreciate you. Some people believe in entitlement mentality we will always stand by you because you led the G5. You are a man of integrity, a man of honour and you you are a performer”.

 

Arapaja, however,.disagreed with some of the remarks of Akpabio against PDP and wondered why the Senate President whom he described as a product of the PDP could attack his party of origin.

 

He said: “The foundation of all political party is the PDP. So I am surprised when someone, who is a product of the PDP will come here and say those things. I do not understand. But that is not politics, nobody can dispute the fact that the present Senate President was a governor of Akwa-lbom State under the PDP and he performed”.

 

The Guest Lecturer, Ihonvbere, highlighted the problems of the country as insecurity, unemployment, poor infrastructure, corruption, religious,.ethnic factor as well as poor educational facilities and said fixing them was not a rocket science.

 

“Our problems can be solved. The Nigerians ruling class in fraction will be ashamed that it has not managed any of our problems successfully. We have created millions and billions but their legacies are hardly sustained. It is not lack of resources but management. Fixing Nigeria is not rocket science. It requires focus and staying the cause”, he said.

 

The Chairman of the occasion and former President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), OCJ Okocha, described Wike a superlative performer with a Midas touch.

 

“This is a man that we have given to Nigeria and we are proud to be his friends and associates. I want to thank us all for organising this public lecture in his honour. Knowing him, he would have opposed it, but I think the pressure on him was too much that his friends won the day and said let us honour you”, he said.