*Resignations Insignificant, Says Govt
THE faltering political pact following the crisis between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his godfather and his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, nose-dived further, as four pro-Wike commissioner have resigned their appointment.
This followed the redeployment of two of them- the former attorney general and commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, and commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu, resigned on Tuesday, April 23 in protest.
The commissioners for Works, George Kelly, and Power, Henry Ogiri, resigned following their appointments by the federal government.
Fubara had, in a circular signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Tammy Danagogo, approved the reassignment of Adangor, to Ministry of Special Duties (Governor’s Office) and Kamalu to Ministry of Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment.
Adangor , who had earlier resigned at the peak of the crisis, but later reinstated following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, said his decision was for the sake of his integrity.
Adangor, in his resignation letter, captioned, ‘Cabinet Reshufflement: Notice of Rejection of Deployment and Resignation from the Rivers State Executive Council,’ said he was not consulted before his deployment.
The letter read: “My attention has been drawn to your letter dated 23rd April, 2024, and widely circulated on social media, whereby I was ‘deployed to the Ministry of Special Duties (Governor’s Office).’
“Further to the referenced letter, I hereby give you notice of my rejection of the said deployment and resignation from the Rivers State Executive Council with effect from 24th day of April, 2024.
“I wish to state for the record, that I am no longer willing to continue to serve in the administration of His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, in any capacity whatsoever.
“It is important to mention that the Governor of Rivers State had in the past couple of weeks willfully interfered with the performance of my duties as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State, by directing me not to defend, oppose or appear in suits instituted against the Attorney General and the Government of Rivers State by persons admittedly hired and sponsored by the Government of Rivers State.
“That having served the Government and good people of Rivers State dutifully as member of the Rivers State Executive Council for the past five (5) years, it has become imperative for me to quit the administration in order to preserve my reputation.”
Kamalu, who quit the cabinet on Wednesday, April 24, noted that the peace initiated by Tinubu was not yet in sight.
While countering Fubara’s position on improvement of the state’s revenue from N12billion to N27billion, Kamalu said the claim was erroneous, adding: “Your Excellency would recall that I served under the administration of His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja) originally as commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning (2015-2019) and subsequently as commissioner for Finance, with oversight responsibility for the Rivers State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (2019 – 2023).
“The mandates of the respective ministries were, to the best of our abilities (as ministries) duly carried out and at all times material relevant reforms were embarked upon for improved performance and effective and sustainable service delivery.
“Among several others, we successfully carried out the following: Initiating and (supporting existing) policy frameworks for enhanced internal revenue generation. This with (necessary adjustments made on some of the programs) led to the increase in the internal revenue receipts. This steady rise has been on for some years now, culminating in what the state is presently generating, though not the figures erroneously claimed in the media.
“You will respectfully recall that when the climate of discord became unbearable, I and other like-minded members of the Executive Council that were appointed by you resigned.
“You thereafter engaged His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as father of the nation to intervene in the matter.
“In deference to the directive of Mr. President, I and the others were recalled and we all accepted and joined the cabinet again.
“I expected, sir, that with the opportunity provided by Mr. President, every effort will be made to sustain peace.
“Regrettably, Your Excellency, the peace in government and governance that we all- citizens and residents- of the state desire has remained out of reach, despite our consistent efforts and demand for same. This has affected our ability to protect and defend the gains that we made these past years.
“In the course of official engagements, I have reiterated on the need for this peace and the fact we all are willing and determined to work for this. It is very difficult to deliver good governance where there is acrimony and discord. It is not the point of service that is important, but the climate.
“Our present circumstance makes service delivery extremely challenging. I still hold the belief that it is never too late for peace.”
In a swift reaction, the state government said Agonor and Kamalu’s resignations from the Fubara’s cabinet would not affect the administration in anyway.
Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, in his reaction in Port Harcourt, stated that every appointee has the reserved right to resign if he/she so wishes, noting that those who were resigning had refused to shape up to the peace made by Tinubu on the Rivers political crisis.
He stated that the state government was keeping to the terms of the peace deal, saying: “Somebody has the right to resign his appointment and the governor has the right to appoint. They have the right to resign. If the governor appoints you and you don’t want to stay, you resign.
“They resigned on their own volition; the governor did not sack them. Two people resigning from the cabinet of his excellence will not affect the administration. How will it affect the administration; are there no other commissioners, even permanent secretaries and directors?
“The structure of the civil service is such that the engine room can stop just without one person. If there is no commissioner, does it mean the ministry will not function?
“It is misrepresentation. Whoever is saying that is overreaching himself. If the President has put peace in place and some people are not still comfortable, they can shape out. The peace the President made is visible and those who are not ready to shape up should ship out, and they are beginning to ship out.
“Those of them who are not shaping up will. Two of them have decided to leave. They are not the only ones who resigned that time. For now, only two people have resigned.”
