The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, hosted suspended members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to a luxurious dinner in the United Kingdom on Monday.
It was gathered that Wike jetted out of Nigeria on Sunday night shortly after meeting with his loyalists and foot soldiers in Port-Harcourt.
His Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, confirmed the gathering in a post on X.com (formerly Twitter), boasting about the event.
“Yesterday, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, hosted Rivers State House of Assembly members who are in the United Kingdom for Legislative Capacity Building, to a dinner,” Olayinka posted alongside a video of the lawmakers with Wike.
The lawmakers, led by embattled Speaker Martins Amaewhule, have been suspended by President Bola Tinubu following a protracted political crisis between Wike and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
It was learnt further that Amaewhule and his factional assembly members were flown to the UK under the guise of a “Legislative Capacity Building Tour” despite their suspension and the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu,
The UK trip, however, was part of Wike’s broader effort to retain influence over the state legislature amid the deepening crisis back home.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a controversial “state of emergency” in Rivers State, suspending Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the state House of Assembly.
The president also appointed a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), as sole administrator of the oil-rich state for an initial period of six months.
Speaking on the developments, former Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, had stated that the crisis rocking Rivers State centred on money sharing.
He noted that Fubara, the suspended governor of Rivers State, and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, were involved in a dispute over money sharing.
In an interview with DW in March, Amaechi had said the clash between suspended Governor Fubara and FCT Minister Wike revolved around the sharing of allocations from the oil-rich Rivers State.
This comes as he condemned the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, labelling it unconstitutional.
He said, “The fight between the current governor of Rivers State and the FCT minister is about sharing money. If not, what is the quarrel? Nigerians don’t dislike corruption anymore. I’ve not seen anybody on the street questioning what the problem is. Can both of them speak to the public and tell us what the problem is about?”
