Former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has stated that President Bola Tinubu will not sacrifice Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike for Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, despite the state’s ongoing political crisis.
Fayose made the claim during an Arise Television interview that aired on Tuesday.
He was responding to the power battle between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, which has exacerbated political instability in Rivers State.
According to Fayose, Wike remains more politically important to President Tinubu than Fubara, and the President has little reason to abandon the former Rivers governor.
“But let me say this to Nigerians: the Asiwaju that I know will not get rid of a Wike for a Fubara. Wike came from Rivers to give support to President Tinubu,” Fayose said.
He argued that Wike’s political value to the President is determined by his performance as FCT minister and his ability to secure election victory for the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“Wike is in Abuja performing; we’ve never had it so good in Abuja, even a blind man can’t deny that,” he said.
“The local government elections in Rivers, APC won them courtesy of Wike. In the coming local government elections in Abuja, APC will still win them. So, what else will the President want from Wike?” Fayose queried.
The comments come after the Rivers State Assembly began its impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara.
The House accused the governor of severe misbehavior, including dismantling the assembly structure, engaging in extra-budgetary spending, and disregarding a Supreme Court order on parliamentary autonomy.
This comes despite a protracted conflict between Wike and Fubara, which has thrown Rivers State into chaos since late 2023.
The crisis began as a power battle for control of the state’s political structure, which included the Peoples Democratic Party apparatus and the State Assembly.
While the House has denied that Wike impacted the impeachment decision, sources suggest that the president has been involved in the controversy.
Fayose commented on allegations that Governor Fubara sought President Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis, claiming the move represented political arrogance on the part of the Rivers governor.
“If Governor Fubara has gone to meet the President (in France), then it shows he needs help. When you don’t praise God, when you refuse to humble yourself and look for peace, you’ll just be running helter-skelter. What he’s looking for is inside his pocket,” he said.
Fayose also addressed the internal issue in the Peoples Democratic Party, refuting suggestions that Tinubu was to blame for the party’s problems.
“The challenges in the PDP are not the fault of Asiwaju,” he said. “Failure in my home, God forbid, is not the fault of my neighbor.”
The former Ekiti State governor described the opposition party as one weakened by internal divisions and self-inflicted conflicts.
“The PDP caused themselves an insurrection. It’s a house that is divided against itself, and the nature of man is survival of the fittest,” Fayose added.
