FG Did Not Orchestrate Rivers Crisis – Information Minister

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Malagi, emphasized that the Federal Government did not orchestrate the political crisis in Rivers State.

During a live interview on Thursday’s Sunrise Daily program on Channels Television, he clarified that the involvement of certain individuals from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet does not imply the All Progressives Congress (APC) government’s involvement in instigating the situation in the state.

“The fact that it is happening in Rivers does not mean that it is the Federal Government that is orchestrating the political crisis,” he said.

“I’ve not found evidence to say that it is the Federal Government that is engineering the crisis in Rivers State,” the minister stated, adding that “it is easy to speculate because some of the actors are people who associate with the government at the centre“.

Malagi highlighted that similar political challenges have arisen in other states, such as Ondo, where the President intervened to resolve conflicts, even when involving members of the same political party.

Notably, the 32-member Rivers State House of Assembly crisis originated from a dispute between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who currently serves as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Despite Wike being a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, he holds a position in the APC-controlled government.

The recent demolition of the Assembly Complex by the governor, under heightened security, occurred approximately two months after a fire incident severely damaged the structure. The state government asserted that the building was no longer structurally sound.