A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that the defection of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), altered the political dynamics in the state, weakening the influence of the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Tam-George said that political calculations in the state within the last three weeks has changed, pointing that the development appeared to have unsettled Wike and his allies.
Speaking during the Arise Television’s Prime Time, the former commissioner said it was why Wike in recent weeks embarked on visits to several local government areas in the state.
According to him, the governor’s defection eroded the leverage previously enjoyed by the Wike camp over the Rivers State Government, forcing them to seek new ways of reasserting their influence.
He, however, warned that the prolonged political tension and instability resulting from the rivalry would ultimately be detrimental to the state and its people.
“The movement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to APC in the last 21 days has changed the political calculation in Rivers State.
“You know, in the past two weeks or so, the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has been going from local government area to another local government area, threatening the government of Rivers state, even insulting the leadership structures of the APC at some point.
“He even accused some senior leaders and the Tinubu administration of going to Rivers State to literally accept, take money or bribes, also from the Rivers state government.
“So what I think is happening is that the defection of the governor has obviously threatened the original leverage that the Wike’s camp had over the governor, and they are finding a way to look for a way of asserting what they thought might be a threat to their leverage.
“But the regret is that it is the state ultimately that suffers from this kind of instability,” Tam-George said.
