Tinubu Is Not Neutral In Rivers Crisis, He Provides Wike Oxygen – Tam-George

Former Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Austin Tam-George, has condemned the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu.

Naijaonpoint reported that President Tinubu, in his state of emergency broadcast on Tuesday, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the House of Assembly.

President Tinubu’s action has received condemnation from opposition parties and politicians, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

In an interview with Arise News on Tuesday, Tam-George, who served in Nyesom Wike’s administration, accused the President of favoring Wike in the political crisis ravaging the state.

According to him, Wike and his group were the ones that worked for the state of emergency declared in the state.

“I’m really disappointed in the President’s speech, but not totally surprised. Any person who has followed developments in River State over the past one year probably knows that this didn’t come as a surprise.

“Much of last year, 2024, the Nyesom Wike group has been working seriously, trying to destabilize the state, trying to create the exact conditions that will lead to a declaration of a state of emergency.

“Even in October last year, I think specifically on the 7th of October, 2024, those who are supporting the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, burnt down four local government councils during the elections in River State. It’s very unfortunate that we’ve got to a point where even the President has been sucked into this crisis. It’s really disappointing,” he said.

The former Rivers Commissioner for Information further accused the President of providing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister the energy he used to cause crisis in the state.

Tam-George argued that President Tinubu showed he was supporting Wike in the crisis through his eight mediation points.

He also faulted that the President, in analyzing the Rivers crisis in his state of emergency speech, failed to mention Wike.

“My own feeling which reflects the broad spectrum of sentiments across the board, not just in River State, but also in the Niger Delta area, is that the President himself is not a neutral party. As a matter of fact, you could argue that he’s had his own fingerprints written all over this crisis.

“You may remember that in December 2023, the President gave very humiliating conditions during his intervention in the crisis in December 2023. All of the eight points that constituted the so-called mediation points were overwhelmingly against the governor, Governor Fubara. Not a single point was against the main orchestrator of this crisis, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who is the FCT minister.

“And now, this evening, we’ve held this broadcast. Throughout the length and breadth of the broadcast, not a single mention was made of the FCT minister, who is the main actor orchestrating the crisis in the state. And he happens to be an appointee of the President. It’s most unfortunate that the president has come across as an active provider of the oxygen to Nyesom Wike, who has now led the state into such a slippery slope,” he added.