The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that a scramble for the state’s substantial treasury is underway.
Wike claimed that politicians from within and outside the state are now scheming to get a share of the N600 billion reportedly left in the state’s coffers, a revelation he says has triggered a wave of opportunistic visits and hollow praise for Governor Sim Fubara.
The controversy stems from a disclosure made in November by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule. During a plenary session, Amaewhule revealed that the former Sole Administrator of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), had left N600 billion in the state treasury upon his exit in September, following the lifting of a six-month emergency rule imposed by President Bola Tinubu.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara later confirmed the existence of the funds but added context, stating he had left N300 billion before his suspension in March and met N600 billion upon his return.
Speaking to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly at their legislative quarters in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike argued that this public disclosure was a strategic mistake.
He stated it “opened the door” to what he called “political 419” – a wave of fraudsters masquerading as allies.
“If you want to make money in Rivers today, I don’t know how you made the mistake of announcing that there is N600bn. That mistake you made announcing that has triggered the interest of some politicians from other states, I know them,” Wike asserted.
He painted a picture where politicians, motivated by the huge sum, visit the state and publicly praise Governor Fubara—who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress—while privately angling for financial benefit.
Wike further alleged that a key tactic for these politicians to ingratiate themselves is to publicly denounce him. He claimed that attacking him has become a currency to access the state’s resources.
“They will now tell somebody here, ‘this Wike, enough is enough,’ they collect… So for you to be able to suck part of that N600 and something billion, you must say Wike’s time is over,” he stated, using the blunt verb “suck” to describe the extraction of funds.
He also cited the invocation of the President’s name as another common tactic. “Are you not seeing that the President is happy with you, they collect… If you learn the pattern of politics here, you won’t bother yourself,” Wike remarked cynically.
Wike’s allegations come amid a series of high-profile visits to Governor Fubara in Port Harcourt, which have fueled speculation. Recently, a federal delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and including the Ministers of Works and Environment, met with the governor, conveying that President Tinubu was “happy” with him.
Similarly, the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, publicly urged support for both Tinubu and Fubara during a project inauguration in the state last week.
Wike framed these visits not as acts of political solidarity but as consistent with a long-standing pattern in the state’s politics, where individuals position themselves around perceived access to state funds.
Governor Fubara has previously defended his administration’s use of the funds, insisting they are being deployed judiciously and promising to present his stewardship to the people.
Concluding his remarks, Wike commended the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly for adhering to the peace pact brokered by President Tinubu during the state’s recent political crisis, stressing the importance of respecting agreements.
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