Gov. Fubara Scales Through Screening, As Wike's Loyalist, Chinda Also Got Cleared

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]get to the hangout. Now, our next story, make no mistake about it, River State politics is defined by an intense ongoing power struggle between incumbent governor Simai Fubara and his predecessor and FCT minister Wiki. The governor seems to be forging ahead regardless. We can report that the governor has been uh officially cleared by the All Progressives Congress screening committee for the upcoming governatorial elections. The committee also successfully cleared the minority leader of the House of Representatives, a loyalist of FCT minister to compete in the highly anticipated primary. Wisdom teaches that in a political struggle while you do not get personal else daggers digs dagger digs too deep.

[00:00:58]>> Well, I think uh it's not obvious that it's going to be very tough in two things are clear to me.

[00:01:06]>> Yeah.

[00:01:06]>> The gum election in River State will be very tough. That's number one. Number two, the feud between uh Fubara and Wiki >> has always been has only been resolved on the surface.

[00:01:22]>> Okay.

[00:01:23]>> There is deep underlying >> problems and I think from what I'm seeing now um we are seeing a political chess game.

[00:01:34]What wiki has done is to pick somebody from PDP and also somebody from APC while has collected the form the candidate from there's a one of the candidates from Kingsley you know I think Alabuj is from Calabari the same place where >> okay sim >> comes from so that creates the impression that look wick is not fighting the calabar people >> and that it's not out to stop the calabar from having a circum >> but I think it's also creating a kind of control experiment what inside they call control experiment to have a candidate in PDP so that if bubara wins the APC primary there is still going to be another hudu to cross the other person has picked is from a query in fact from the same local government with him Yes. And um if you look at rivers politics that local government usually produce you know most of the time the highest number of votes sometimes 80,000 you know >> and in terms of population terms of geop ethnic configuration in lia state the are larger than the other ethnic groups Indonesia and all of them. So if they and if you look at since 1999 it's only I think um that wasn't an equator man all the other governors we have had you know they have always you know come from and it was a good thing that wiki decided to create a kind of power shift for the first time to you know calabar so I think uh it's going to be very tough it's going to be um unpredictable And I hope that we'll be able to manage this without any you know bloodshed.

[00:03:36]>> Yeah.

[00:03:37]>> You know >> but from my reading of the whole scene I think we still holds the >> the ace >> the ace in terms of even when you are talking about APC the local government election that held majority of those who won are his boys. is also in control of PDP in river state. So I think that is negotiating from position of strength as far politics is concerned but politics something you cannot predict.

[00:04:08]However I I think we don't know what can happen. Maybe there there could still be some negotiation between Fubara and Wiki. But as today I think um Wik is going to have a candidate in PDP and also in APC and it's most likely that his candidate given the balance of forces now may emerge victorious in the coming election and politics is a zero sum game.

[00:04:40]It's not not all the time. It's it depends on the players.

[00:04:47]If um a political player is not a team player, >> he turns it to a zero sum game.

[00:04:58]Uh there are politicians who are very welcoming to not just opponents but to um other people within their group.

[00:05:11]There are politicians who like to work with others ensure that there is equity there is fairness in everything that they do. the conflict between Wiki and um >> Bubar >> Pubar had gone on for too long.

[00:05:31]>> Okay. And I wasn't surprised that after the APC announced that he had successfully scheduled screening though he did not show up at the screening and people began asking questions what's going on but the chairman of the party said look there's no need for these questions he's not the only governor who is not around you know I know for example that the governor of quara also traveled abroad. Um so it's possible for a governor to not be around but when he's around they will invite him to come and ask they are just simple questions.

[00:06:15]Yeah, >> that they asked them know they are not these sessions are not regorous in any way and I'm sorry a shu is trying to uh say something she is reaching us from Sakoto I greet you brother Shahu how are you >> um uh good afternoon uh presenter and >> yeah thank Thank you.

[00:06:48]>> Uh good afternoon to you all.

[00:06:50]>> Go on. Welcome.

[00:06:55]>> We are listening. Go on.

[00:06:56]>> Don't listen to yourself. Just keep talking.

[00:06:59]>> Okay. Okay. That's all right. Um for the first time, Mr. has cleared the all the doubt that I have about him and he has cleared all the impression for speaking to power about this application. The only way out is for government to come in and help all out other than that I'm telling you in no time all their lands will close up and all people will now become jobless and that is problem upon problem for government again.

[00:07:30]>> Yeah. Yeah. So the only way out is for government to step in and build these guys out. Aviation is airlines are operating at a massive loss. Millions and millions and millions of NRA every day fueling aircraft.

[00:07:45]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:07:47]>> So that is the only way out. Please and please to set it and build these guys out. The wheels are not safe anymore. The moment you hear one is one. Thank you, brother Sh.

[00:08:01]Thank you. We got you first time. Yeah.

[00:08:05]>> Uh okay.

[00:08:07]>> Yeah. Be care.

[00:08:08]>> Uh so I said what I want to see is the resolution of this matter.

[00:08:19]um not all governors could be around at the time of the screening but naturally people started asking questions when Fubara was not physically present. uh Fubara's form was also uh bought um for him by a coalition of elders.

[00:08:40]>> That's it.

[00:08:41]>> In the state that >> because as far as they are concerned >> is qualified to be reelected. Uh on the same day, President Tinu's sole challenger Stanley Oipo was also successfully screened. So what they will do is once these governors um come back from wherever they've been to they will call them and just ask them a few questions. They are not uh um tough questions that they will be asking the governors. I'm aware that the governor of Aqua Bomb state has done his own um was there I think on Wednesday >> to submit um this nation form and um he's been screened.

[00:09:27]WIK has positioned himself in a way that he wants to ensure that whoever becomes the governor of whoever will become the governor of that state must be somebody from his group.

[00:09:44]>> That's it.

[00:09:44]>> He does not belong to the APC officially >> but he managed to produce the APC uh chairman in the state.

[00:09:55]He does not belong to APC officially but his loyalist dominated the local government election.

[00:10:04]Those loyalist won under the banner of APC.

[00:10:10]He also owns in inverted commas the chairman of the PDP in River State which means that he has one leg here, he has another leg here.

[00:10:23]>> Yeah.

[00:10:25]So he wants to be in a situation whereby whoever the decision making will be his because he has put his own people there as German. So this is the but politics is such a fluid it can sometimes be very tricky. You may think you have all of this and at the end of day you can't even produce the next governor.

[00:10:50]>> Yeah. Because power ultimately rests with the people. So it makes sense for him to play his card like a sensible person because if he does not play his card well he could end up turning the people against him and I don't think that is what he wants to see because he worked for that state they remember him for a lot of infrastructural interventions and all that. I think that the matter of Fubara has to be handled >> carefully carefully.

[00:11:26]>> Yeah. Wik no doubt about it does not trust Fubara anymore and he believes that if Fubara gets reelected he's going to crush him politically because if you you are still you are still chasing re-election and you can go that far with your boss.

[00:11:48]So wicked thinks that if fub um is returned that he will be in trouble and yes they've made effort Mr. President has intervened five times in the matter. Yes, five times they met abroad, they met at home. But I don't think that pub's hand is trust after the slug fest between both men.

[00:12:20]And it's natural when we go to court, we usually come don't come back and remain friends.

[00:12:27]>> Oh yeah.

[00:12:28]>> That is a fact of life. You start doubting that if this person this people went this person went this far with me, can I trust him again? You know that is the fear that he has. And this was someone that they had worked together in the government house was the accountant.

[00:12:48]Uh he was his accountant for government house.

[00:12:51]>> Yeah.

[00:12:51]>> And then Yes. And he became uh governor.

[00:12:55]So, but now I don't think that I think there's a total breakdown of thrust between both men. He's scared that if comes back, Fubara is going to retire him politically. That is his mortal fear.

[00:13:14]That is his mortal fear. And he thought that the solution to the problem was to impeach Kubara. But the president stepped in.

[00:13:22]And when the president tell me what did the president do? The president sent Fubar on suspension.

[00:13:29]It was done to save Fubara because Wiki had the numbers and he had just won in the Supreme Court. So whatever I told the lawmakers to do, they will do and Fub will have become history today. But Mr. President didn't want Wik to do that. That was why Wikked a media chat said he was not happy that that um emergency rule was uh declared because he had planned >> to use his voice in the house to send fraing. So Mr. President stepping in at that time with that declaration of state of emergency was meant to save Fubara for impeachment.

[00:14:12]Fub acknowledged that when he addressed the press some time ago and said you people don't know >> that this man saved me.

[00:14:23]He saved me if not for his intervention >> I won't be standing before you today.

[00:14:30]So >> Mr. president read the situation very well and said look let me step in. So I don't know how many times they expect an old man to be intervening in their matter but Wik has to um moderate. Yes, we has to be careful.

[00:14:51]Um the game power belongs in the hands of the people, >> the people.

[00:14:57]>> And um if you allow the people to feel so strongly that you are just bent on getting rid of this man, then you you may lose the support of the people.

[00:15:12]>> Yeah. Well, so so late American president um Abraham Lincoln was right when he said the ballot is stronger than the bullet. So the people are the ultimate uh decision makers decision makers.

[00:15:29]>> Yes. I I thought that the 6 months um you know um emergency room >> would have given the would have provided a window of opportunity for them to resolve all the >> whatever differences. Yeah.

[00:15:47]>> Unfortunately that didn't happen.

[00:15:50]>> So I think on both sides you know there are two sides to a coin.

[00:15:54]>> Uh both sides needs to be very careful.

[00:15:57]>> Fubar also needs to play his game very well. Okay.

[00:16:00]>> Because I think he has more to lose.

[00:16:03]>> You have you are not allowed to even achieve anything your first time you know and you could not even write your name in history. People could not test you adequately whether you are a good governor or not. It was full of crisis.

[00:16:16]>> So sometimes you need to bend down low at least to get what you want.

[00:16:20]Especially when you are dealing with a very the crisis a very difficult person who is very difficult to please you know. So I think on both sides you know they need to um be very careful. They need to be very cautious and to realize at the end of the day it might become an ill wind that blows no no one any good >> any good. Yeah. So in the interest of the people of river state you know they should allow common sense they should allow you know logic they should allow the interest of the people to prevail because now what I'm saying is that even if they don't resolve this crisis whoever emerges as a as governor still needs to battle to ensure control majority control in the house of assembly.

[00:17:02]>> Yeah. If that does not happen, if Fubara does not, if he wins without you know majority control, the issue of P will come up again >> and I don't think it's every time the president have I mean to busy himself with rivers politics when they cannot resolve the problems themselves. So the others in river state should also rise up to the occasion. Okay.

[00:17:22]>> Both calabar the code edone of them has killed each other's children. So what is it that you want? I don't even know why it is difficult to present a budget >> you know >> I don't know sir because that has been a sticking point present a budget >> so you still to conquer but FA has consistently refused to take advice along that line what is the big deal in presenting a budget >> yeah they still accusing him yeah >> up till now he has not presented the budget and you are spending money you didn't present budget Little wonder the late Chinese chairman Mao Zidong he said >> politics is war >> without without bullets.

[00:18:11]>> Yeah.

[00:18:12]>> But that war is politics with bullets.

[00:18:15]>> That in war you are killed once. In politics you are killed many times.

[00:18:22]>> A word is enough for the wise.

[00:18:23]>> Wise.

[00:18:25]>> Okay then to our next story. You know,