“Edwin Clark Asked Me Not To Make Fubara My Successor – Wike

By Gideon Njoku

“If you want Ijaw, why Opobo man?” – Edwin Clark, according to Wike

The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Barrister Nyesom Wike has sensationally revealed that Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, was against his picking Sir Siminalayi Fubara as his, Wike’s, successor in office.

Recalling what he passed through  in order to make Siminalayi Fubara his successor in office, Wike revealed Friday night that he hurt people, made enemies, appealed  to Ogoni people, to calm down for the sake of Fubara.

He said he deliberately chose Fubara to succeed him in office in order to give an  Ijaw son a chance to be Governor.

To Wike’s consternation, he said after doing that, what he gets paid with are ingratitude, insults, betrayal.

One of the things that, however, surprises Wike is the attacks against him by Ijaw Leader, Chief  Edwin Clark. Wike had, on a number of times, come under the hammer of Clark over his political spat with Fubara. Clark had demanded, a number of times for Wike to leave Fubara, an Ijaw son, alone, to govern Rivers State.

But Wike, in an interview with Channels Television chided Clark. He said that he was surprised at Clark because the elder statesman was one of those who came to him and asked him not to pick Fubara as his successor.

Wike: “I really don’t want to respond to Clark. I have tried to restrain myself, but I am a human being. He, Clark, is shouting ‘Ijaw, Ijaw’ now. But he was the same person who was against my making Fubara my successor. He told me Eh, if you want to make an Ijaw man Governor, why should it be Opobo”?

For the records, Governor Fubara is from Opobo, Rivers State.

Wike also reminded his listeners, in case anybody was forgetting, that Clark is from Delta State, not Rivers.

So, he said: “I don’t know whether he is Ijaw leader or not. I am not Ijaw. I don’t know whether he is Elder Statesman or not. Age does not confer that. But this man who thinks only he knows everything, why has he not installed an Ijaw man Governor in Delta State?

“Ask him if he is a PDP member. Ask him to show you his PDP membership card? Ask him how much he has given to PDP, Rivers State”

Wike is, currently, the FCT Minister under an APC Federal Government.