He said that Wike was at the loss part because he had limited power and financial control and that he is far away from Rivers State but Fubara has the advantage of presence, proximity and financial control. A political analyst and Executive Director of Development Specs Academy, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu, has said that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, stands at a disadvantage in the lingering political crisis between him and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Ikechukwu, while speaking in an interview on Arise News TV, monitored by SaharaReporters, said that it was not a smart decision for Wike to be in disagreement with Fubara who was his accountant general, ans was in charge of his finances, knowing where all the bones were buried.
He said that Wike was at the loss part because he had limited power and financial control and that he is far away from Rivers State but Fubara has the advantage of presence, proximity and financial control.
According to Ikechukwu, “That agreement they tried to craft here in Abuja, I had said it wasn’t going anywhere. The Presidency would eventually have enough problems on its own. All of that is power politics.
“Here is a sitting governor ostensibly put in place by the man before him who demanded, expected and still expects loyalty, but who it appeared wanted to also be running the government on his behalf and issuing instructions. That led to disagreements.
“I thought the disagreement was not a very smart thing on the part of the Ex-governor because you are taking on the man who was in charge of your finances, who knew where the bones were buried.
“He was the Accountant General of the state, and who had previously informed Nigerians how you were the one who bought forms for those who contested. Even that alone is a matter on which somebody will ask questions of where did you get all that funds from, among other things.
“Now the paper agreement and understanding is not working, Fubara has opened up all the flanks, and I think the person who stands at a disadvantage in the line of fire is Wike.”
The analyst noted that “In politics, you must make a distinction whether you want to be in power or you want to be in office.”
He said that if two persons are ministers but while one goes directly to see the President but the other one sees the President through the minister who sees the President directly, the one who sees the President directly is both in office and in power while the other one is only in office.
According to Ikechukwu, “Wike as governor was in power within a space and had unlimited funds. Today he is a minister whose spending profile is circumscribed by the Presidency because he is one of the aides of the Presidency, and his capacity for discretion is limited and he is also far away from Rivers state.
“Fubara has had time to deploy both presence, proximity and financial muscles to retwerk a lot of things. As it is, the gloves are off. The gloves were always off because at that point of agreement, both parties were implacable. It was the third party that appeared to tell them to plan to be of good behaviour.
“There is a difference between refusing to punch and not desiring to punch. We have seen that it was not a refusal to punch. They all held their punches. Fubara thinks he has gotten into a very comfortable space where he can land a soccer punch, and here it has come.”