A prominent Niger Delta activist and Rivers State stakeholder, Annkio Briggs, has sent a strong message to the political class, asserting that the survival of Rivers State is not tied to the whims of any single person.
Briggs made this clear on Thursday during an appearance on “Politics Today,” a program on Channels Television.
Her comments come at a time of extreme political instability in the state, as the House of Assembly moves to oust Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu.
Addressing the narrative that the state’s progress is dependent on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Briggs questioned the logic behind such claims.
She expressed concern over the repeated mentions of “agreements” by the Minister’s camp and the lawmakers.
“What is it? He keeps talking about an agreement. What’s the agreement? Do you know the agreement that Nyesom Wike is shouting about? Agreement, agreement. Everybody is shouting, agreement, agreement. The lawmakers are shouting,” she said.
She further challenged the slogan often used by supporters of the FCT Minister, stating: “His supporters are shouting, no Wike, no Rivers state. You can’t say that. How can you say that without one man (Wike) a state will not exist? Where is that political, and where is it acceptable?”
Nonetheless, Briggs emphasized that the residents of Rivers State do not subscribe to the idea of a personal political monopoly.
She noted that the current governor enjoys “organic support” from the people, which she believes will follow him regardless of his political platform.
According to her, the mandate belongs to the people, and they are firmly behind the governor. “Well, it may be acceptable anywhere else. But I don’t think such is acceptable by the people of Rivers State. All I do know is that the majority of Rivers people are in support of Governor Siminalayi Fubara,” she noted.
She added that even if the governor were to switch parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC) for political survival, his core support base would remain intact. “His support is organic.
And therefore, if Today he finds himself for whatever reasons, he has decided as the governor of River State to move to the APC to survive as a governor. The organic support he has is fully behind him,” Briggs declared.
While Briggs clarified that she is not a member of the APC, she maintained that her primary loyalty lies with the interests of Rivers State.
She insisted that voters would decide the future of the state based on performance and circumstances rather than dictates from any “godfather” figure.
“I may not be a member of APC, but I am a daughter of Rivers State, and when it comes to the elections in Rivers State, I know whom I’m going to vote for. It will depend on what the person is offering and the circumstances,” she stated.
In a related development, POLITICS NIGERIA earlier reported that the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, recently declined a request from the State House of Assembly to set up a seven-man panel to investigate the Governor.
The Chief Judge cited subsisting court injunctions as the reason for his inability to proceed with the impeachment process at this time.