Fubara draws another blood: “If we are fighting the Federal Government, it is a different matter. We are talking of the Federal Government that is giving us support but the rat in the house is eating the bag of garri. You can imagine such situation. So I will continue to identify with good governance.”
By Ishaya Ibrahim
In what is obviously an escalation of the war of words between himself and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State Siminalayi Fubara has described the Federal Capital Territory Minister as a “rat in the house eating the bag of garri.”
Fubara also called out Wike for allegedly commissioning multiple projects without paying the contractors.
Fubara, during the inauguration the Aleto-Ogale-Ebubu-Eteo Road, also known as Old Bori Road in Eleme Local Government Area of the state, said many contractors have been coming to him for the balance of their payments.
He said he would henceforth be appearing at project inauguration sites with white papers specifying project costs.
Fubara said he never wanted to speak about such issues but that he had been pushed to say them so that “the buttocks of the fowl would be exposed.”
He said the project which he commissioned was awarded to CCCC on August 14, 2023 by his administration to act as a bypass against bad sections of the Eleme axis of the East-West Road.
The governor said he embarked on the project to demonstrate his support for the Federal Government insisting that his administration will always put the people’s interest first.
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He said: “As we are going we will be going with the white paper to show the records and the cost of the projects. It was awarded at the cost of N6.7 billion. I can say that we have paid the contractor completely.
“The purpose of this is to let the world know that if there is one problem this administration has, it is debt. Most of the projects that were commissioned, the contractors are coming for their balance running into billions.
“I said I don’t want to talk because I am part of the system. But when you continue to push me I will say it so that they will see the nyash of the fowl.
“Aleto is a bypass that if you cannot access the East-West road, it can take you away from the bad section to the good section of the East-West road. Is what we are doing today not a help to the Federal Government and a show that this government has the interest and the support of the people and is doing everything to make the Federal Government succeed?
“So when people come and say funny things, I start laughing. It is not social media, we are talking about actions. We are taking actions that make positive impacts in the lives of out people”.
The governor thanked the Eleme people for their support during the project execution and promised he would site more infrastructure in the area.
He said: “I want to thank the good people of Eleme for their support in the cause of this project. The contractor never complained because of the cooperation. What we have done today is a sign that if we come back here to take any other project, you are protected.
“I can assure you that we are going to come back and do more projects for the good people of Eleme”.
Fubara explained that he invited Governor Alex Otti of Abia State to inaugurate the project because he is a man with real and not fake integrity.
He said: “Why did I invite the governor of Abia State? I invited him because he is not an artificial integrity man. He is an action integrity man. He is not the one that they will gather because they just want to talk. He is a man who came in the face of difficulties and challenges just like we have here and is making impact in the lives of Abians”.
On the comment of Wike that his administration fought the then Federal Government, Fubara said the scenarios were different as his government was dealing with the house rat.
He said: “I heard someone saying when we came onboard we were fighting Federal Government, Federal Government did not use any instrument in your State to frustrate you. Our scenarios are quite different.
“If we are fighting Federal Government it is a different matter. We are talking of the Federal Government that is giving us support but the rat in the house is eating the bag of garri. So you can imagine such situation. So I will continue to identify with good governance.”
