Former Rivers State Commissioner Leloonu Nwibubasa has alleged that politicians who served under former Governor and current FCT Minister Nyesom Wike experienced what he described as the minister’s high-handed leadership style.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Nwibubasa attributed the prolonged political crisis in Rivers State to decisions driven by emotion rather than sound political judgment. He argued that the situation might have been avoided if there had been earlier resistance to what he described as Wike’s growing concentration of political power.
“Some of us suffered under his heavy-handedness. I was part of his government, so I know how things were run,” Nwibubasa said.
He recalled that Wike’s rise to political dominance coincided with widespread support in the Niger Delta for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election, which he said diverted attention from developments within Rivers State.
Nwibubasa also linked the state’s political divisions to the internal crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 general elections. He alleged that disagreements emerged when some party members opposed what they viewed as Wike’s support for Bola Tinubu over the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. According to him, the split exposed deep divisions within the party and contributed to the political instability in Rivers State.:::writing
