I’ll Give Fubara Free Hand To Manage Rivers State — Nyesom Wike.

The two gladiators.

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has pledged that he would allow his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, complete freedom to administer the affairs of Rivers State.

He also declared that he has no plan to recommend commissioners to the Rivers governor as the latter returns to office following a six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.

President Tinubu had announced the emergency rule in March after a prolonged political conflict between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.

Many analysts partly linked the crisis to Wike’s alleged imposition of political appointees on the governor.

However, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Wike asserted that he has no nominees to propose and promised to give the governor full control over the management of the oil-rich South-South state.

“I cannot go and impose anything on the governor. Why would I impose anything on the governor? Assuming I go to the governor and say, ‘I want this,’ will the state collapse? I will not (suggest commissioners for the governor). I have no candidate, and I will not.”

Wike maintained that even if the Rivers governor approached him for assistance, he would assure him of the liberty to govern the state in his own way.

“Even if the governor comes to me now and says, ‘We have agreed we want to work together,’ which is natural, I will say, ‘Look, I give you a free hand; you know what you want for the state.’

“All I would want to say is, I know what I did and what I have done to keep this thing to this level; don’t drop it, move ahead. As I speak to you, I left the state where we can compete favourably with Lagos,” he said.

Governor Fubara was scheduled to resume office on Thursday, but he did not appear at the Government House.

A large crowd that had assembled in anticipation of his arrival eventually dispersed after waiting for several hours.

Nevertheless, Wike explained that no law required the governor to resume precisely on the day the emergency rule ended.

“There is no law that says he must resume work today. He is the governor. I don’t understand the way we operate. Okay, I was sworn in today, but that does not mean I will go to the office tomorrow.

“You don’t know what my programmes are, you don’t know what the governor has scheduled to do, and you don’t know where he is,” he said.