The minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, has revealed that the immediate-past chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers (RSCTR), Ohna Sergeant Awuse, played a crucial role in Governor Siminalayi Fubara's emergence.
Recall that Fubara had in July announced the removal of Awuse, who is the traditional ruler of the Emohua kingdom in the state and replaced with the traditional ruler of the Apara kingdom, Eze Chike Worlu-Wodo.
Wike spoke yesterday when he visited the traditional ruler, who just returned from a medical trip overseas, at his palace in Emohua, the headquarters of the Emohua local government area of the state.
The minister said he was surprised to hear the governor cast aspersions on Sergeant Awuse, whom he said was revered as an astute politician. He pointed out that the traditional ruler played a more prominent role in Fubara's emergence as the governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
The minister said, "I was watching television, and I heard the governor say, ' That one that can never be steady. 'And the next thing I heard was that they had removed you.
"He was one of the few people who made sure that the ticket was given to the governor on the day we decided who would run as a governor. The governor never bothered to ask about Awuse, even if it was to ask his children.
"But he was on television casting aspersions on somebody we revered in politics. When politics was politics, we needed to find out where the governor was and whether he was in primary school. That is all part of life.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"It again tells you that in our society, once you have hope in God, there is no problem. It doesn't come smoothly, and sometimes it is rough. On behalf of all of us, we thank God for your life".
Responding, Awuse recounted how he was removed as chairman of the state traditional ruler's council while he was in a hospital's intensive care unit.
He said: "I never went out of this state without telling my governor; not just once; all written; all acknowledged. So, when somebody said he didn't know where I went, I was surprised unless there was another chairman other than me.
"He was my candidate. I took him as my candidate. None of the people running around him today showed face. I am the only traditional ruler, first class, who followed that campaign from local government to local government, and I went to every local government.
"In most local government areas, I mounted the rostrums to speak for him because I trusted him. I am not a side-by-person. I was the main one. But today, in the house of politics, you see the good, the bad and the ugly. Anyone that falls into your hand, you take.
"I was sacked from my seat the day I was in ICU. I was in a coma for 10 hours. I told only him (Wike) because everybody rejected me. The government I was serving rejected me. People have the mind to say I will support the governor to the fullest. Why won't you support him to the fullest when you did not contribute to his being there."
