Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has voiced his disappointment with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asserting that the party has failed him and his supporters in the state.
According to CHANNELS TELEVISION, Fubara, elected as governor on the PDP platform a year ago, made these remarks during a meeting with members of the Senate Committee on Privatisation at the government house in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
The committee, led by Senator Orji Kalu, included Senator Abba Moro, a former Minister of Interior, whom Governor Fubara acknowledged as a leader within the PDP.
However, Fubara humorously informed the Benue politician that he would not adhere to party protocols, citing the party’s failure to meet the expectations of Rivers State.
Fubara declared that he and his supporters in Rivers State were now operating as a movement to defend democracy rather than functioning as traditional members of a political party.
He also addressed the ongoing political crisis in the state.
The governor’s stance followed an incident on Tuesday where a man attempted to detonate an explosive in Port Harcourt.
CHANNELS TELEVISION reported that the unidentified man intended to blow up the Presidential Hotel, a prominent hospitality facility in the state.
The suspect was later arrested by the police.
Speaking about the incident, Fubara said the attacker targeted the facility, which was accommodating high-profile individuals, including members of the Senate committee.
He suggested the motive was to justify calls for a state of emergency in Rivers State.
"The idea was that as you heard the state of emergency, it will be so that by the time they finish when you return to have your sitting tomorrow (Thursday), the debate will be from somebody from this state who called you people to tell you not to come. He will now raise the issue of a state of emergency, and say, after all, distinguished colleagues saw it happen while you were in Rivers State, that you saw what happened," Fubara explained.
He added, "But you see, when you are with God, even your own child who is planning evil, will go and tell somebody that God is with this man because he is clean, this is what my father is planning. That is what is keeping us in this State."
Governor Fubara expressed frustration over the apparent inaction of the law against offenders, suggesting that some individuals appeared to be above the law.
He criticized the agitation for tenure elongation for former local government chairmen, stating that this issue is unprecedented elsewhere in the country.
Fubara clarified that he was not fighting anyone but was defending the state against predators and protecting the interests of Rivers State supporters.
He emphasized his commitment to safeguarding the state against those who feel they have control over the lives of others.