Rivers Crisis : ‘My Respect for Tinubu Should Not Be Mistaken for Weakness, I Have Blood Flowing in My Body’ — Wike 

Rivers Crisis : ‘My Respect for Tinubu Should Not Be Mistaken for Weakness, I Have Blood Flowing in My Body’ — Wike

 

 

Amid escalating political tensions in Rivers State, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, has issued a strongly worded statement reaffirming his loyalty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while asserting his own political strength and autonomy.

 

Speaking in a candid and emotionally charged interview aired by ESET TV, Wike made it clear that his reverence for President Tinubu should not be misinterpreted as submission.

 

“It will be difficult for me to disobey Mr. President,” Wike said, “but he should also know that it’s not water flowing in my body, it’s blood.”

 

The remarks come as Wike finds himself at the center of an intensifying political rift with his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Wike described the fallout as deeply personal, likening Fubara’s actions to betrayal from a trusted protégé. “It’s like a son trying to kill his own father after being raised and nurtured by him,” he said.

 

“I raised him, I nurtured him politically,” Wike lamented. “Now he wants to destroy the very house that made him.”

 

Wike accused Fubara of becoming a pawn in the hands of his political adversaries, suggesting that efforts to broker peace have so far been disingenuous. “Peace must be genuine,” he stressed, “not just on social media or in press statements, but with real involvement from lawmakers and party stakeholders.”

 

Amid speculation about a potential defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wike firmly reaffirmed his commitment to the party, while making it clear that he is prepared for the political battles ahead—especially as the 2027 elections begin to loom.

 

“I have no plans to leave the PDP,” he said, “but make no mistake, I am ready for what lies ahead.”