and Agnes Ekebuike

As the political turbulence in Rivers State begins to calm down, an elder statesman and veteran politician, Chief Asukewe Ikoawaji, has asserted that the long-running standoff between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, is fundamentally a “political family matter” and not a crisis involving the broader Rivers populace.

Speaking yesterday on the Morning Show of ARISE News Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspaper, Ikoawaji described the conflict as a dispute between two individuals from the same political lineage. “If you follow me very carefully. I have said it time without number that this matter has nothing to do with the Rivers’ people. It is a political family problem,” he stated.

He emphasised that both Governor Fubara and Wike emerged from the same dominant political structure that has governed the state since 1999.

According to Ikoawaji, had both leaders treated the matter as a private family dispute, there would have been no need for external intervention. 

“Because he (Wike) has failed in treating Fubara like a son, that is why it looks as if there is a problem in Rivers State,” he stated.

Amid concerns about the roles of the state’s elders, Ikoawaji acknowledged that elder statesmen only intervened after internal mechanisms within the political family failed to resolve the matter. “At that point, they failed to settle their matter. That is where you see the elders coming in,” he explained.

On the controversial issue of the defection of state lawmakers and the looming threat of impeachment against Governor Fubara, Chief Ikoawaji critiqued the political parties for failing to enforce internal discipline. He stated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which both Wike and Fubara belong, did not act decisively when lawmakers allegedly defected. “If a man defects to another party, the PDP should disown the person. But they failed,” he said.

Reacting to the federal government’s temporary declaration of a state of emergency in the state, Ikoawaji defended the move as necessary to avert bloodshed. “There was tension in the state,” he noted, adding that without federal intervention, “many souls would have been wasted.”

When pressed on which side he supports, Wike or Fubara, the elder statesman was unequivocal: “I am not on Wike’s side. I am not on Fubara’s side. I am on the side of Rivers people.”

He concluded by urging a return to democratic norms and inclusive governance, warning that the ongoing impasse has deprived citizens of the dividends of democracy.