Months after, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, said he will put fire in the state of any governor that supports the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara over the lingering political crisis in Rivers State.
What the word “fire” which was used by Wike implies is that the governor that supports Fubara is going to experience political instability in his state that would require the federal government to declare a state of emergency.
The situation in Rivers State has clearly defined the kind of emergency rule any governor that supports Fubara will experience in his state.
Not wanting to experience a situation with which a sitting governor will be suspended by the federal government under the guise of an emergency rule, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has observed that Wike wants to put fire in Bayelsa to provoke an emergency rule in Bayelsa State.
It was learnt that after President Bola Tinubu proclaimed an emergency rule in Rivers State, Fubara was allowed by Diri to stay in the Bayelsa State Government House with his family pending when normalcy would return to Rivers State.
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The recent action of Diri has shown that he sees Wike as someone who is working hard to put political fire in Bayelsa State with the aim of provoking an emergency rule in the state that would lead to the suspension of Diri.
A group called the New Associates had wanted to hold a rally in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital to honour both President Tinubu and Wike for appointing some indigenes of Bayelsa into key positions at the federal level.
For the fact that Wike was mentioned as part of those to be honoured at the rally, the government of Bayelsa saw the move as another attempt by Wike to create political tension that will ignite political fire in the state.
Governor Diri came up and announced the rejection of the rally from holding in Bayelsa, citing security concerns. Diri said with the recent derogatory comments of Wike against the Ijaws, holding such rally in Bayelsa will threaten the peace of the state.
But the organisers of the rally insisted to hold the rally in Bayelsa on the April 12 date as earlier scheduled in defiant of Diri’s ban on the rally.
The Bayelsa State Government through its Attorney General and Commisioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo (SAN) took further legal step to stop the rally from holding in Bayelsa.
In an ex-parte motion filed by the Bayelsa State Government, a state high court sitting in Yenagoa had issued an order restraining the associates of Wike from holding the mega rally in the state pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The high court presided over by Justice I.A. Uzakah on Thursday granted the motion ex-parte in Suit No. BYHC/YHC/CV/133/2025 stopping the proposed rally which was scheduled to hold in Yenagoa on April 12, 2025.
The suit listed the organisers of the rally: The NEW Associates and Mr. George Turner as the first defendant/respondent and Wike as the second defendant/respondent.
