A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Austin Tam George, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, as a destabilising force in Rivers State, alleging that his actions are driven by attempts to impose political godfatherism on the state.
Tam George, who served under Wike’s administration, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television. He said his resignation as commissioner was prompted by what he described as Wike’s “propensity for chaos and instability” and the reduction of governance to a personality-driven system.
According to the former commissioner, the current political tension in Rivers State is the culmination of Wike’s long-standing approach to power, which he said has now manifested in efforts to control the state’s political structure for personal influence.
“Nyesom Wike has been a complete pestilence on Rivers State,” Tam George said. “I served in his administration and resigned precisely because of his tendency towards chaos, instability and reducing government to a personality cult. I am disappointed that this disposition has now crystallised to a point where the state is being held to ransom by someone who believes he must remain a political godfather over Rivers State.”
He argued that the alleged move to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a calculated attempt to reassert political control and curtail the governor’s growing popularity and influence across the state.
Tam George expressed confidence that Rivers people would ultimately resist what he described as an attempt to “privatise the state” for personal political aggrandisement, insisting that such ambitions would fail.
He praised Governor Fubara’s performance in office, describing him as an effective administrator who has prioritised capacity building, poverty reduction and sectoral development over political patronage.
“Governor Fubara has been an excellent administrator,” he said. “Resources that would ordinarily have been diverted to political godfathers are now being invested in critical sectors like education, which is undergoing transformation, and health, where tertiary health institutions have been revived alongside 122 primary healthcare centres across the 23 local government areas.”
According to him, the governor’s sector-by-sector approach to governance has endeared him to the people of the state and strengthened public support for his administration.
Tam George further suggested that Governor Fubara’s growing acceptance and the possibility of a second-term bid to consolidate his achievements could significantly reduce Wike’s political influence in the state.
“So what you are seeing in the impeachment talk is an attempt to reassert leverage against the governor,” he said, adding that such moves were unlikely to succeed in the face of popular resistance.
The comments add to the growing public debate surrounding Rivers State’s political climate amid rising tensions between key political actors in the state.
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