The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused his successor and Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, of cancelling the employment of 10,000 youths engaged by his administration shortly after assuming office.
Wike made the allegation on Wednesday at Ahoada main town, during the Renewed Hope Family “thank you” visit to Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The former Rivers governor also criticised Fubara for allegedly taking credit for major road projects initiated by his administration in Ahoada and Emohua, describing the governor as “a bad child” for failing to sustain what he called his legacies.
According to Wike, his administration deliberately invested in youth employment and critical infrastructure to reposition Rivers State as one of the most respected states in the federation.
“I employed Rivers State youths, 10,000 of them. The person we handed over power to, instead of allowing the 10,000 youths to continue working, cancelled the employment. Ten thousand youths. A bad child is a bad child,” Wike said.
The FCT minister expressed displeasure that projects he said were substantially funded before he left office were now being publicly claimed by the current administration.
“When I decided to dualise this Ahoada road, people thought it was impossible. But today, Ahoada East and Ahoada Town are coming back to be the cities they are supposed to be,” he said.
Wike explained that before leaving office, his administration completed Phase One of the Ahoada road dualisation and formally flagged off Phase Two, which would extend to Omoku. He added that the Emohua–Kalabari Road project was also awarded around the same period.
“The job was given to Julius Berger. We signed an agreement for them to collect ₦4 billion every month from our Internally Generated Revenue. The total cost of the Ahoada–Omoku and Emohua–Kalabari roads was over ₦80 billion,” he said.
According to him, the payment structure was designed to ensure project completion within two years, adding that on some other road projects, including those handled by Setrako, his administration had already paid about 70 per cent of the contract sum.
“Today, I hear people are making noise. They have forgotten who laid the foundation. What is continuity?” Wike queried.
He further lamented that Rivers State, which he said was once admired nationwide during his tenure, had allegedly lost its standing.
“When I handed over, I said, ‘See where I stopped; please continue with this programme that will make our state one of the most respected in this country.’ When I was governor, Nigeria respected Rivers State. I don’t know what it is today,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Leader of the Renewed Hope Family in Ahoada and Chairman of the South-South Development Commission (SSDC), Rt. Hon. Chibudom Nwuche, said Governor Fubara emerged based on political instructions, just as Rivers people voted for President Bola Tinubu.
Nwuche, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, maintained that Ahoada would continue to support President Tinubu and the Renewed Hope political structure.
He commended Wike for what he described as numerous development projects attracted to Ahoada and for the political sacrifices he made in backing Tinubu and the emergence of the Rivers governor.
“No governor has ever shown the kind of commitment to the development of Ahoada that Chief Wike has shown,” Nwuche said, pledging continued loyalty to the FCT minister.
He warned individuals he described as “interlopers” to stay away from Rivers State politics, stressing that political dynamics differ across states.
“Politics is local. Go to your states and show your strength. Leave Rivers State alone. Rivers has its peculiar politics which we understand,” he said.
Nwuche added that leadership requires unity and gratitude, and warned that internal division weakens political structures.
“When a leader chooses one of us, the person is expected to show gratitude and work with the entire team. When you divide a team, that is not how to show gratitude,” he said.