Opunabo Inko-Tariah, former Special Adviser on Media to the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has revealed that the former governor harboured ambitions for a de facto third term in office through his successor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Inko-Tariah, speaking to journalists in Port-Harcourt, stated that Wike envisioned a continued influence in state affairs through Fubara’s administration.
His words: “The former governor is yet to come to terms with the fact that while he thought he was going to do a third term in office by proxy, the man who succeeded him, knowing too well what Rivers people went through in the last eight years, has decided to hue us out of that mountain of despair and frustration.
“I’m talking about the present governor, Sir Fubara. He was Wike’s Director of Finance and Administration while I was in office before I resigned. Then, he became the Accountant General of the state.
“You will all agree with me that he worked closely with the then-governor. I want to believe his hands were a little bit fertile, and so there are so many things, even if you oppose because we had a governor who was averse to criticisms as we saw in the last general elections.”
Inko-Tariah also stated that the governor was working well since he assumed office.
He said: “You are all aware of what the governor is doing since coming on board. He has approved several employments into the civil service, promoted civil servants and increased the salary of local government workers.
“Last December, he approved the payment of N100,000 Christmas bonus for all civil servants in the state. These are the kinds of people-oriented programmes and policies that people want.
“So the love and support for this current administration is organic; it is natural because of his policies and leadership style.”
