Reactions have continued to trail the withdrawal of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in the state.
Fubara, in a statement issued on Wednesday, announced his withdrawal from the primary election scheduled to hold on Thursday, citing the need for peace. He also stated that he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate.
Reacting to the development, human rights lawyer, Chetam Nwala, alleged that the governor was never genuinely interested in the race.
“He has never been in the race. He was pretending all along, as he has always done,” Nwala said.
According to him, former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, imposed Fubara on the people of Rivers State.
“Wike forced him on us. When the chips were down, Sim took the state back to Wike and Tinubu,” he stated.
Nwala further claimed that Fubara’s actions were driven by personal political interests rather than the interest of Rivers people.
“It was never about Rivers people; it was always about his personal interest and completing his tenure. That was why he confidently threw his lieutenants under the bus.
“His supporters are political orphans today because they trusted him while he was deceiving them. They believed that because he was quiet, he was planning something strategic, not knowing he was preparing to betray them,” he added.
The lawyer also described Fubara as inconsistent and questioned his leadership capacity.
“I blame Wike the most for everything, but Sim has no business with leadership. May Sim never happen to Rivers State again,” he said.
Popular socialite Cubana Chief Priest also reacted briefly to the governor’s withdrawal, writing: “Wike won. Agreement is agreement.”
Social media influencer Brian Dennis said the circumstances surrounding Fubara’s defection to the APC showed that he was not fully accepted within the party.
“Other governors defected to the APC and got grand receptions in their states. Vice President Shettima attended and presented party flags to them.
“Nothing like that happened for him.
There was no acknowledgement. It was as if he joined the spiritual arm of the APC because it was clear he wasn’t welcome in the physical structure of the party
“A comedy of errors. I will never kick a man when he’s down, but the past three years have been a collage of poor political decisions,” he stated.
Dennis added that although he might not fully understand the governor’s position, he believed different decisions could have been made.
“I don’t know better because I’m not the one wearing the shoes, but I know I could have changed the shoes if they were hurting,” he said.
Media personality Vicky Thompson also criticised the governor, accusing him of being dishonest about the reasons for his withdrawal.
“Your Excellency, Siminalayi Fubara, you lied about your reasons for withdrawing from the governorship election,” she said.
Meanwhile, Adaeze Edokwe questioned the influence of political godfatherism in Rivers State politics.
“Is it that one man determines who leads in this state? Can the youths not stand up, present someone, and fight to the end? That way, there would be no godfatherism.
“I grew up hearing so much about active Rivers youths, but what I’m seeing now is disappointing,” she said.
