Press Release The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has been drawn to an attempt to misrepresent ...
Press Release
Chief Rufus Ada George served as the Executive Governor of Rivers State from January 1992 to November 1993, a tenure spanning approximately 23 months.
Rivers people cannot forget in a hurry, the level of inter-communal crisis with all the trappings of ethnic cleansing which was the hallmark of his government within the short time it lasted.
Only God knows what would have become of the people of certain ethnic nationalities in Rivers State which his government clearly targeted for extermination if his administration had not been interrupted by Divine intervention.
The only recorded achievement which the government of Chief Rufus Ada George can be remembered for, and traced to, was the numerous inter-communal conflicts, and inter-ethnic violence across communities in the State, which was widely believed to be sponsored by his government.
It is important to state emphatically and categorically that there is not a single truth in the wild allegations made by Chief Rufus Ada George, in which he linked His Excellency, Chief (Barr) Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the current political crisis in Rivers State.
The allegations made by Chief Rufus Ada George against the FCT Minister, Chief (Barr) Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, are complete falsehood, and tissues of lies, just to misrepresent the facts.
As a matter of fact, it is on record that as a former Governor of Rivers State, an Elder Statesman in the true sense of the word, and as the Honourable Minister of the FCT - a Representative of Rivers State in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) - Chief (Barr) Nyesom Ezenwo Wike did everything humanly possible to broker peace, by championing the peace process in a deliberate attempt to avert and resolve the current political crisis in the State, especially at the primary stage, before it snowballed into a full blown crisis between the Executive Arm of government headed by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the Legislative Arm of the government led by Rt. Hon. Martin C. Amaewhule, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Unfortunately, while the FCT Minister was doing all he can as a true Leader that he is, to avert the current political crisis in Rivers State, and broker peace at the same time, Chief Rufus Ada George and his fellow Crisis Entrepreneurs and Political Merchants masquerading in the guise of "Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum" were busy playing the ethnic game, and fanning the embers of discord, by urging and supporting suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to continue with his reign of impunity.
It is on record that there was never a time that Chief Rufus Ada George cautioned Siminalayi Fubara against disobeying the rule of law in the State while the suspended Governor was behaving like a bull in a China shop, and governing Rivers State like a Dictator.
I challenge Chief Rufus Ada George and his "Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum" to show proof of their action or utterances expressing their displeasure as supposed "Elders", and "Leaders" in Rivers State when the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex - an edifice second to none in the 36 States of the Federation - was burnt in a manner still shocking to well meaning Rivers people on October 29th, 2023.
Where was Chief Rufus Ada George and his co-travellers when Siminalayi Fubara pulled down the entire complex of the Rivers State House of Assembly in less than 48 hours after the burning of the Assembly without any form of investigation or Commission of Inquiry to unravel the circumstances surrounding the burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly?
What was the role of Chief Rufus Ada George and the "Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum" when the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Rt. Hon. Martin C. Amaewhule were denied and refused salaries for over a year?
How about the financial malfeasance?
Chief Rufus Ada George was a former Governor, could he have spent Government funds without Appropriation?
When suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara declared in a viral video that the "Jungle has matured" for whatever that meant, was Chief Rufus Ada George and his "Elders", and "Leaders" on leave of absence?
How about conducting local government election in Rivers State against the law of the land by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara?
Did they bother to offer a word of caution when Siminalayi Fubara was flagrantly disregarding and disobeying Court judgements?
Chief Rufus Ada George and his "Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum" are the same "Elders" and "Leaders" who criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for not having the power to make decisions when he intervened to resolve the political crisis in Rivers State on the invitation made to him by Siminalayi Fubara for the intervention of Mr President.
These "Elders" and "Leaders" subsequently went to Court to challenge Mr President for intervening in the political impasse in the State.
They contributed majorly to the political situation in Rivers State as it was a means for them to fill their pockets from Rivers' funds, and satisfy their stomach.
It is clear that their wish is for the political situation in Rivers State to continue to linger, and fester, for their selfish ends.
Are these the set of people that well meaning Rivers people are supposed to depend on and take seriously?
Perhaps Chief Rufus Ada George and his "Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum" had a selfish and destructive agenda which was botched with the swift and timely intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, with the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State to maintain law and order, and forestall a total breakdown of peace in the State.
That timely intervention by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for which well meaning Rivers people are grateful for might have gotten them further angered, as it frustrated their selfish plans to continue painting the political crisis in Rivers State in different ethnic colours, and change the narratives to deceive the gullible.
Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha, DSSRS, JP,
Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
April 10, 2025.
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