Mrs. Tonye Briggs-Oniyide, the Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in Rivers State, has dismissed the allegation by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, that supporters of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara walked out on the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Meanwhile, the suspended Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, has refuted claims of her involvement in disrupting the empowerment program.
It would be recalled that some Rivers women on Friday walked out of the women empowerment event organised by the RHI, in partnership with the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The women who were beneficiaries of the empowerment, walked out of the programme, as the wife of the state Sole Administrator, Mrs. Theresa Ibok-Ete Ibas, mounted the podium to address them.
The women had protested that they wanted Fubaraโs wife, Mrs Valera or Senator Oluremi Tinubu to address them, insisting that they will not have two governorโs wives in a state..
They also demanded the reinstatement of Governor Fubara.
But in a statement issued yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the FCT minister claimed that Fubaraโs supporters walked out on Mrs.
Tinubu, who was not at the event.
Wike, who also apologised to the First Lady and President Bola Tinubu on behalf of the people of Rivers State, said: โInsult on anyone representing the First Lady of Nigeria in an event is a direct insult on the office of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as a leader in Rivers State; I apologise.โ
Wike, who is on official assignment in China, said: โIt is not enough to be visiting people to plead for peace; those who genuinely want peace work and act for it.
โThese are the same people pleading for peace, but at the same time doing things that are contrary to what they are pleading for.
โHow can you say you want peace and at the same time, you are sponsoring people to insult everyone, including the President and his wife?โ Wike queried.
But in a swift response, RHI State coordinator, Briggs-Oniyide, faulted Wikeโs claims, saying โdespite being on vacation, the Governor Fubara ensured full support logistical and otherwise for the success of the empowerment programme organised under the esteemed leadership of the First Lady, Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubuโ.
She explained that โthe event was progressing successfully, with the women of Rivers State expressing overwhelming appreciation for the initiative, until a disruption occurred when the wife of the Rivers State Administrator, Mrs Theresa Ibas, was making a speech.
โAt that point, the women in attendance vocally opposed her participation, stating clearly that they did not recognise her as their First Lady and would prefer not to be addressed by herโ.
She described Wikeโs claims as deeply misleading and a calculated attempt to politicise a well-meaning, non-partisan event.
She said Rivers women are known for their dignity and unity beyond political affiliations.
Meanwhile, the suspended Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Oreh, has denied any involvement in the disruption of the empowerment programme.
In a statement she personally signed, she said the allegations levelled against her regarding the supposed disruption of the empowerment programme were โentirely unfounded, completely false, and a product of the sick imagination of rumour mongers and conflict entrepreneurs.โ
She said the allegations were nothing more than a feeble and mischievous attempt to tarnish her reputation and sow discord.
Oreh challenged the โConcerned Rivers Youth Organisationโ to provide tangible proof to support their allegations, stressing that it is essential to base criticisms on facts rather than speculation or puerile political agenda.
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