The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has identified what he described as the biggest mistakes made by Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, saying the governor attempted to distance himself from the political structure that produced him and began building his own structure less than 100 days after taking office.

Wike said Fubara’s early political moves showed a lack of appreciation for those who backed his emergence as governor and undermined the foundation that brought him to power.

The former Rivers governor spoke on Saturday during a special media chat in Port Harcourt, where he reflected on the political crisis in the state and his relationship with his successor.

Wike said he left office after putting in place projects and policies he expected Fubara to continue, with the goal of positioning Rivers State to compete with Lagos in infrastructure development. According to him, he was unaware that the governor had chosen a different path.

He said his administration initiated the multi-billion-naira Port Harcourt Ring Road project connecting several local government areas before he left office, describing it as one of the legacy projects designed to transform the state.

The FCT minister also said his government completed and commissioned 12 flyovers, which he noted improved transportation, infrastructure and the physical outlook of Port Harcourt and neighbouring areas.

Wike maintained that politicians must exercise caution in making decisions, adding that Fubara’s actions widened the development gap he had hoped to close between Rivers and Lagos states.

Wike stated, “In politics you have to be careful. There are those who want you to succeed and make a name. The opportunity that you have been given, not everybody that has that opportunity. There are those who are not happy who don’t want you to be there, and you have to be very careful.

“Remember before I handed over to governor Fubara we did a church service and I did say that you have been elected. Few days you will be sworn in, Now what do you want to achieve? See where I have stopped. My thinking is that we do need to compete with Lagos. We have laid the foundation, he (Fubara) should be able to continue from there, we will give you all the necessary support.”

Wike said Fubara’s problems began when he started listening to people who wanted him to fail, including individuals who had aspired to become governor. He alleged that those people encouraged the governor to confront him instead of working together.

“But listen, in this game you have your stone base (support), you have your village relation, you have all kinds and manner of people. There are those who will mean well for you, there are those who will not mean well for you.

“Now you just came to office, somebody now comes, yes he is trying to support you. Must it be his name? Why not try now to put yourself and people know that it is you.

“Yes you came through him but it is now you; all kinds of manner of things. Some will even go through your wife. Some people will go through your in-laws. So people will go through your father and all kinds of things. So it now behoves on you to sit and say, this kind of advice, where will it lead me to?

ALSO READ: NNPC deploys over 1,000 new employees, says recruitment not by ‘who you know’

“You have to think well. If you make the mistake which he made by saying that yes I can do it alone, those who gave me support I don’t care, I don’t need them. Those who didn’t want you will come in. There is no way anybody who didn’t want you to be in a position will want you to succeed.

“Yes, he tried to do it by himself and he wanted to set up his own structure as against the structure that built him. In fact it did not take up to 100 days and we saw it. We said something must be fundamentally wrong. Forget about people who say you were asking him for money. You know one thing in politics is that the moment you disagree on an issue, the only thing you can use to get the support of the people is that they are asking me for money.”

The former governor said he remained focused throughout his administration, which he credited for the projects delivered during his tenure. He added that his expectation was for his successor to sustain that momentum.

“You have said here that Nigerians were astonished by me taking 31 days of commission and flag off which no governor in this country has ever done. We were focused but you see, he lost focus here.”

Responding to allegations that he demanded money from Fubara, Wike dismissed the claims, describing them as a familiar tactic often used whenever political allies fall out.

He said there was no reason for him to seek money from the Rivers governor, stressing that as FCT minister he manages a budget comparable to that of a state government. He added that his only interest was to see Fubara stabilise Rivers State and build on the achievements of his administration.

“If it was money that we were asking for we wouldn’t have prevailed. But we said look this is a political group that worked hard it will be too wrong, too early for anybody to give you this advice. We said look what do I want, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. It’s just like a governor. I present my own budget, The budget of the FCT this year is about N1.8 trillion, So I don’t know what I want. All I wanted was to look, stabilize the place, move on from where I stopped, and I laid a fantastic foundation so we will be able to compete with Lagos.

“Look as I went to the FCT the money FCT was collecting monthly as IGR (Internally Generated Revenue) was N8 billion. But as I speak to you today we have hit up to N40 billion monthly. That is people who want to work, who want to achieved result,

“So his mistake led to where it is too far in the day the difference between us (Rivers) and Lagos,” the former Rivers State governor.”