Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ridiculed the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, following the latter’s recent remarks.
Fubara had stated that he was not desperate to return to the governorship position, suggesting that he had emotionally detached from the role.
He made the statement during a service of songs in honour of the late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, held in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
“Can’t you see how better I look? Do you think I am interested in it? Do you even know if I want to go back there? My spirit had already left that place long ago,” Fubara said.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier suspended Fubara, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months. A state of emergency was subsequently declared in Rivers State, with retired naval officer Ibok-Ete Ibas appointed as Sole Administrator.
The ongoing political conflict in the state stemmed from a power struggle between Fubara and Wike over control of political resources, which escalated tensions and provoked threats from Niger Delta militants to attack oil facilities.
Reacting to Fubara’s statement, Olayinka likened the situation to a failed marriage and advised the suspended governor to make his exit official.
“It is not really compulsory to stay in a marriage your spirit already left. Simply opt out legally,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
