By Abiola Olawale
Amid the political crisis rocking Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has raised alarm that the suspected bomber who detonated an explosive in Port Harcourt on Tuesday was allegedly sent by some powerful people.
The governor said the suspected bomber was sent to blow up the Presidential Hotel, a highly-rated hospitality facility in the state.
According to Fubara, the intention of the said influential individuals was to incite chaos in Rivers State and as well provide President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with a reason to declare a state of emergency.
Fubara who spoke while playing host to the Senate Committee on Privatization led by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in the government house in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, said the suspected bomber targeted the Presidential Hotel because it is always accommodating high-profile individuals.
He said: “The idea was that as you heard the state of emergency, it will be so that by the time they finish when you return to have your sitting tomorrow (Thursday), the debate will be from somebody from this state who called you people to tell you not to come. He will now raise the issue of a state of emergency, and say, after all, distinguished colleagues saw it happen while you were in Rivers State, that you saw what happened.
“But you see, when you are with God, even your child who is planning evil, will go and tell somebody that God is with this man because he is clean, this is what my father is planning. That is what is keeping us in this State”.
Speaking further, Fubara expressed concern about the apparent lack of enforcement of the law in tackling offenders.
He said it appears that certain individuals are trying to exert their influence to bypass legal repercussions.
According to him, the issue of tenure elongation for former local government chairmen is an example of individuals trying to bypass the Constitution.
He continued: “Where on earth can the tenure of local government chairmen be elongated? You were a former governor, was it tried in your time? Even those of you who are Senators here, even in your states, have anyone tried this before?
“Is it that the Constitution that governs Nigeria is different from the one that operates in Rivers State? These are the very pertinent questions we should ask.
“Why should it be that when it comes to the case of Rivers State, the law is always silent? Is it that there is somebody bigger than Nigeria? That is the question I want you to go back with.”
Governor Fubara added, “I tell you, we know everything that is happening, and you know it, everybody knows it. We should be bold enough to look at the faces of people and tell them the truth.
“I am not fighting anybody. If I am fighting, people will know that I am fighting; my pattern will change. What we are doing is to defend ourselves, we can’t just fold our hands. Only a tree will be standing and somebody will come and cut it off.
“It doesn’t happen as a human being. If you know that danger is coming, you shift. What we are doing is just to protect ourselves. So, distinguished Senators, I am not fighting anybody.”
The New Diplomat reports that the Governor’s comments is coming shortly after the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh had announced that the suspect who allegedly detonated an explosive device near the state-owned Presidential Hotel has been apprehended.
It would be recalled that tension in Rivers State escalated as pandemonium occurred following an explosion in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
It was gathered that a middle-aged man who is yet to be identified reportedly lost his life while trying to discharge an explosive during a protest in the state capital on Tuesday.
The incident happened in front of Hotel Presidential at about 9.45 am on Tuesday, while some supporters of the immediate-past Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike were holding their solidarity march.
The incident came amid a political crisis rocking the oil-rich state.
Fubara has been battling with his predecessor, Wike over the past eight months.
The crisis had taken several dramatic twists and turns, with the latest emerging when Fubara ordered all 23 local government chairmen to vacate their seats following the expiration of their tenures.
Though the governor had sworn in new caretaker chairmen for the 23 local government areas of the state, the former chairmen are arguing that the tenure elongation law enacted by the Martins Amaewhule Assembly remains valid.
