“Wike, You Are Not The Owner Of Rivers State” – Ann Kio-Briggs

By Adesina Soyooye

“As of today, majority of the people of Rivers State are behind Governor Fubara”

Weighing in on the renewed political hostilities between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, a member of the State’s Elders Forum, Ann Kio-Briggs, has sent a message to Wike: “You are not the owner of Rivers State.”

Kio-Briggs, took the  swipe at Wike over his recent comments that  Fubara will not be allowed to contest for a second term in office.

In the past couple of weeks, Wike has unleashed all kinds of attacks on the Governor, including publicly dismissing him with condescending words and statements. He has repeatedly said that he would not allow Fubara to contest for a second term in office, a statement which Kio-Briggs finds offensive and a threat to the people of the State and so, unacceptable.

Her words: “Let me put it like this. Nyesom Wike is a former Governor of Rivers State. He is a son of Rivers State. Wike is the Minister of the Federal Capital and a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. Nobody can claim that any one individual has 100 per cent support in any State in Nigeria, in any place in the world.

“You cannot have 100 per cent support even when you put a gun to somebody’s head, the support is not 100 per cent.

“The Minister is not the owner of Rivers State. He doesn’t own Rivers State, and he doesn’t own the people of Rivers State.

“At least, given this preamble, nobody can claim that the present governor is not the Governor of Rivers State; nobody can claim how many people can vote for him or cannot vote for him.

“But as of today, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has the majority of votes of the people of Rivers State.”

Commenting specifically on Wike’s threat to stop Fubara  in 2027, Kio-Briggs fired:  “It’s almost like a threat that Siminalayi Fubara is not going to come back; it’s actually a threat to Rivers State itself, and it is also a threat to the people of Rivers State themselves, and it is not acceptable.

“It is unfair to the people of Rivers State who are being put through this because of political ambition. The people of Rivers State that I know, and that I’m in touch with as of today, the majority of the people are in support of the present Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.

“And what I know is that what the Rivers people want is peace. We want peace in our state, and the people of Rivers State want to be allowed to choose a man or woman of their choice, and if at the end of the day Sir Siminalayi Fubara is the choice of the people, it is only if God allows anybody that they can overturn that choice of the people.

“But I think that any true son or daughter of Rivers State should want peace and tranquillity in our state, no matter the political party you belong to.”