‘I Lost Nothing, He Lost Everything’- Wike Says Fubara Paid Price for Political Rebellion

• Wike says Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s political rebellion and abandonment of the structure that brought him to power ultimately cost him the opportunity to seek a second term in office.

• The FCT minister reveals that several reconciliation efforts were made but collapsed over political calculations and fears of losing relevance ahead of the 2027 elections.

• He accuses unnamed external interests, including influential lawyers and political actors, of misleading Fubara and attempting to hijack Rivers State for financial gains.

• Wike insists he bears no regrets over the fallout with his former political ally, declaring, “I lost nothing, he lost everything,” while maintaining that the crisis was entirely avoidable.

Aug 04, () — The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that Governor Siminalayi Fubara paid a heavy political price for turning against the political structure that produced him, insisting that the Rivers governor’s rebellion ultimately cost him the opportunity to seek a second term in office.

Speaking during the August edition of his monthly media chat on Tuesday, Wike said that despite repeated warnings to his estranged political godson, Fubara ignored advice to preserve the political family that supported his emergence as governor in 2023.

According to the former Rivers State governor, his successor abandoned a tested political structure in favour of individuals who had initially opposed his governorship ambition.

“I said, look, don’t derail. I came as governor, and I had a crisis. When I came as governor, there was nothing. They didn’t even relocate the Government House,” Wike said.

Reflecting on his own experience in office, Wike recalled inheriting an administration with virtually no operational assets, revealing that he had to borrow ceremonial vehicles from former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko.

“When I came, I had to borrow vehicles from the former governor of Ondo, Mimiko, these parade vehicles. Nobody kept any vehicle; I didn’t have a vehicle.

“But before I left as governor, I packed out of Government House one and a half years before. I renovated Government House. I bought vehicles for the governor, the deputy governor, and the governor’s wife. I did that,” he said.

The FCT minister said he expected Fubara to consolidate on the foundation already laid rather than dismantle it.

“Somebody had laid a foundation. Look, this is where I stopped. If you continue this way, our dream is to be able to compete with Lagos. What is wrong with that?” he asked.

‘I Lost Nothing, He Lost Everything’

Wike alleged that politicians who initially fought against Fubara’s emergence as governor later became his closest advisers and encouraged him to challenge those who made his election possible.

“Somebody comes, and that’s why you have to be careful. Those who didn’t want you to be governor now became your friends.

“Obviously, they will destroy you, thinking that coming closer to you is to fight us. At the end of the fight, I have not lost anything. What have I lost? Nothing. But you have lost. You intended to go for a second term, didn’t you? And you are not going,” he said.

Asked whether he still loved Fubara despite the prolonged political feud, Wike replied that there would have been no reason to support his governorship ambition if there was no confidence in him.

“If I don’t love him, why would we support him? That’s the point I’m making,” he said.

The minister also disclosed that both camps at one point agreed to put the crisis behind them but said fresh political considerations eventually frustrated the reconciliation process.

He added, “There was a time we all thought, we all agreed, and said, ‘Look, can we allow bygones to be bygones?’ But something fundamental came up in Politics.

“They said, ‘Look, if you allow this now, there are those who are here who want to see that we are no longer politically relevant.’”

Wike further alleged that influential external interests saw Rivers State as a source of financial enrichment and worked behind the scenes to deepen the crisis by offering Fubara what he described as dangerous legal and political advice.

“There are external forces that want to hijack Rivers State. You don’t allow them to hijack Rivers State.

“There are those who see Rivers State as a cash cow. I can tell you so many things happened. There are people, even some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who you would never believe can play that kind of role, who were virtually living with us in government,” he said.

According to him, those individuals encouraged the governor to confront his political camp while enjoying privileged access to state resources.

“When this thing happened, they were so bitter that they started giving the governor wrong advice: ‘Don’t worry, the law says this, the law didn’t say this’. They were sending them aircraft, then they would relax in the jet.

“To them, they were king. So, for him to continue to be there, they would exert that kind of influence. We said no, this cash cow must end now. You won’t have it again. Take as much as you can, but you have to stop,” Wike said.