Amid rising tensions over the potential visit of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, to Bayelsa State, former Senator Magnus Abe has called on Governor Douye Diri’s administration to cease spending public funds on legal battles and press conferences aimed at blocking the minister’s entry.
A High Court in Bayelsa State had Thursday last week inissued an order restraining associates of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, from holding a mega rally in the state pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
The order was to stop the proposed rally by George Turnah and key Wike loyalists scheduled for Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on April 12, 2025.
Reacting to this development, the lead convener of the NEW Associates Bayelsa State chapter, Turnah, organisers of the rally, said his group had no plans to hold a rally for the FCT Minister, Wike, in the Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital as was alleged by the state government.
Instead he said what the group was planning was a solidarity rally in appreciation of President Bola Tinubu for appointing persons from Bayelsa State into positions of authority and trust in his administration.
However, reacting to the escalating political crisis in the state, Abe described the heightened apprehension, dubbed “Wikephobia”, as unnecessary, noting that despite Wike’s public denial of any plans to visit Bayelsa, the state government, elders, and political actors continue to mobilise resources to oppose a non-existent trip. He emphasised that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees every citizen, including Wike, the right to free movement across the country.
“The day Wike decides to visit Yenagoa, he will do so, just as Governor Diri freely travels to Port Harcourt and Abuja,” Abe stated. He urged the state government to redirect funds earmarked for litigation and media campaigns towards developmental projects that directly benefit Bayelsa’s populace.
The senator further criticised the lack of diplomatic engagement between South-South leaders, suggesting that a simple phone call between Governor Diri and Minister Wike could have averted the current controversy. As leaders, we must reassess our approach. Greater cooperation within the region would yield far better outcomes, he asserted.
Abe’s remarks come amid a flurry of political manoeuvres in Bayelsa, where opposition figures have accused the state government of stoking undue hostility towards Wike, a former Rivers State governor and influential figure in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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