‘Diri Supporting Fubara To Disrespect Wike’ – Labour Party Former Guber Candidate

Bayelsa State Governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Udengs Eradiri, has accused the state Governor, Douye Diri, of misleading the suspended Governor of Rivers state, Sim Fubara, to disrespect his political godfather cum Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Naijaonpoint reports that Eradiri, in an interview with Punch, weighed in on the feud between Wike and Fubara, stating that the latter’s only option is to kneel and apologise to the FCT Minister.

According to the LP chieftain, Diri, who is supporting Fubara to disrespect Wike, has the longest-serving commissioners in Nigeria because of respect for the agreement.

Eradiri maintained that the Wike and Fubara’s fallout is a simple crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but they have turned it into an Ijaw matter due to incompetence.

In his words, “Who is Sim without Wike? Look, it is even disloyal on the part of an Ijaw man to bite the finger that fed him. That’s what Sim did nau. In three months, you begin to bite the hand that fed you. Don’t you see where it has led to? The only option is for him to go back and apologise to his leader. Me, I don’t tolerate it o! I don’t know those people who were fanning the embers of this. Wike may have whatever excesses that he has, but three months? Who is Sim? In your life, did you hear about Sim before? This guy brought you in, collapsed all interests to say you should take care of everybody. In fact, the worst part is that Bayelsa State Governor, who is supporting him to disrespect his boss, has the longest-serving commissioners because of respect for the agreement. Bayelsa State House of Assembly members who have four terms – they don’t do more than two terms in Bayelsa Assembly, but there are people with four terms because of the agreement. You know, all of us are supporting you, so you will give these people back their assembly seats. He said, ‘yes sir.’ He did not change one. About 90 per cent of the commissioners in Bayelsa were from the former governor. Go and find out.

“The Commissioner for Finance is the longest serving commissioner in Nigeria. Go and find out. It’s because he respects his boss. Why is he encouraging Sim to disrespect his own boss? That is my position. Was I not a commissioner in the last government? So, what I’m telling you, I’m not telling you what they told me. I’m telling you what I know. You respect your own, you will send a private jet to go and carry him, but you want your brother to disrespect his boss. And then when the heat comes, you say its Ijaw problem and then ban Wike. Wike should not come to Bayelsa, but you cannot sustain the airport in Bayelsa, you are going to fly plane from Wike’s Ikwerre land. What kind of people are these? And then you you create problem for the ethnic nationality whereas it is your political crisis. Wike PDP, Diri PDP, Sim PDP, George Turnah PDP, the state assembly PDP. It’s a simple party crisis, but for incompetence, they have turned it into Ijaw matter. Ijaw people should come and fight. That is not correct.

“So my brother, the only solution for him is to go and kneel to his boss and say, forgive me because this thing about political structure is very difficult to handle. If you don’t have capacity you cannot manage political interest, and a governor must be somebody who has capacity to manage both state resources and political interest. Sim does not have that capacity. That is why he can say ‘my spirit has left government.’ What about the people that supported you? What about those who have been standing with you? What about all the people who have died because they stood firm for you? All of a sudden your spirit has left. That is all and the supporters become enemies of the state because when the other people take over they will witch-hunt your people.”