Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has accused politicians of scheming to get a share of the N600bn left in Rivers State coffers by the former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), following the lifting of the six-month emergency rule in the state.
Wike raised the alarm on Saturday evening at a meeting with members of the Rivers State House of Assembly at their legislative quarters along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, claiming that the disclosure of the funds had triggered the interest of politicians from within and outside the state.
Wike said some prominent politicians who recently visited Rivers State and met with Governor Siminalayi Fubara were not motivated by goodwill or political solidarity but by the desire to access the N600bn reportedly left behind by Ibas.
The FCT minister said such politicians had adopted a pattern of publicly praising Governor Fubara —who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress—while privately angling for a share of the state’s resources.
According to Wike, “Given the experience in Nigerian politics, Nigerian politicians like Rivers money. I can tell you that. Go and study it. Nigerian politicians like Rivers money.
“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.”
The FCT Minister accused the politicians of weaponising attacks against him as a strategy to ingratiate themselves with the state government, claiming that abusing him had become an easy route to benefiting from the funds.
He added, “They will now tell somebody here, this Wike enough is enough, they collect. Don’t worry, Wike, his own time is finished, 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.”
Wike further stated that the revelation of the size of the N600bn had effectively “opened the door” to political opportunists, whom he described as fraudsters.
He continued, “That is the way now. If you want to suck from that N600 and something billion, you went and told the public, you opened the whole thing. So you know, people were hanging around. Now you are the one who opened the door to having this kind of money. So what do you want them to do? People are waiting for where they will perch.
“So every day they put in one front page, they have adopted so-so people, they collect. So-so people in so-so committees, they collect.”
Wike further alleged that invoking President Tinubu’s name had become another tactic for extracting benefits from the state.
He added, “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 because anybody who comes to Rivers State now must say the president is happy with you; he collects his own.
“They don’t want to hear Wike again; they collect their own. He doesn’t see the president again; they collect. You people also made the mistake of telling the world the amount of money. You see a lot of political 419; that is what is going on.”
The N600bn controversy first came into public view in November when the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, disclosed during a plenary sitting that Vice Admiral Ibas had left N600bn in the state coffers upon his exit on September 18, following the lifting of the emergency rule imposed on March 18 by President Bola Tinubu.
Amaewhule made the disclosure while reacting to a report by the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Aforji Igwe, on the deplorable state of public schools in the state.
The Speaker accused Governor Fubara of abandoning public education and questioned why part of the N600bn left behind by Ibas could not be used to upgrade school infrastructure and recruit more qualified teachers.
A week later, Governor Fubara, while speaking at a project inauguration, confirmed the existence of the funds but offered additional context.
He said he had left N300bn in the state treasury before his suspension on March 18 and met N600bn on his return to office on September 18.
The governor, however, rejected claims of mismanagement, insisting that the funds were being deployed judiciously and promising to present his stewardship to the people in the coming days.
Recent high-profile visits to Rivers State have further fuelled political speculation. Last week, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, led a federal delegation comprising the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, to meet with Governor Fubara. The delegation reportedly conveyed President Tinubu’s message that he was “happy” with the governor.
Similarly, the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, last Monday accompanied Fubara to the inauguration of the newly completed Permanent Secretaries’ quarters at Elimgbu community in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, where he urged Rivers residents to support President Tinubu and Governor Fubara in the 2027 general elections.
Wike said such visits and endorsements were consistent with a long-standing pattern in the state’s politics, where politicians position themselves around perceived access to state funds.
Wike however commended the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly for adhering to the peace pact brokered by President Tinubu during the height of the political crisis in the state, stressing that agreements must be respected and upheld.
