Governor Sim Fubara has decided to surround himself with enemies by appointing nine commissioners loyal to the former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike to his cabinet, Rivers state elders have said.
The Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum, RELF, made the assertion on Tuesday few hours after the governor sworn in the commissioners.
The governor had during the swearing in charged the pro-Wike commissioners, who had earlier resigned at the peak of the crisis of confidence between Fubara and Wike last year, charged them to work in the interest of the state.
Reacting, the elders said the governor is playing with the lion’s tail with his appointment of the commissioners, who they alleged would work against his interest.
The magazine had earlier reported that the return of the commissioners was part of the peace deal reached by Fubara and Wike with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of efforts to calm the restive oil rich state following the political crisis that brewed from the quest by the former allies to control the state.
The elders, who spoke through Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, urged the governor not to trust the commissioners, describing their re-appointment as illegal.
“We have continued to maintain that you cannot protect your house with your sworn enemies. When your enemies are known, you push them away or you keep them at arms-length. But there is this saying that you cannot allow your enemies to be your guard because they will one day assassinate you,” he said.
