3 months ago
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By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The photographs of Mrs Beatrice Ituboh, the 2023 governorship candidate of Labour Party and ex- Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in Rivers with Nyesom Wike, Minister of Federal Capital Territory have spiked speculations in the State.
The pictures apparently taken at the Abuja home of the former governor have also elicited concerns among ardent supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara as some observers said Ituboh’s meeting with Wike may mean that she has pitched tent with the the FCT Minister in the political crisis in Rivers.
This, will, however, be a surprise given the fact that she had earlier pledged support for Fubara.
She demonstrated this by withdrawing her petition against election of Fubara at the governorship election at the Supreme Court.
But with the local government election approaching in Rivers, some analysts also feared that with his romance with Ituboh, Wike who still claim to be a member of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may have also succeeded in capturing the structures of the Labour Party in Rivers, just like like he had allegedly done by planting Tony Okocha as State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the State.
Recall that Hilda Dokubo, the Rivers Chairman of Labour Party has been struggling to the dismiss the news that she had been sacked from her position as State Chairman.
Ituboh’s romance with Wike was also a surprise to critics who noted that under her leadership as the NLC Chairperson in Rivers, civil servants were stagnated for eight years as the state government refused to promote or increase their salary.
Wike claimed he refused to promote or increase salaries of civil servants because he had frosty relationship with Ituboh.
(Left-Right) Senator Allwell Onyesoh, Senator representing Rivers East, former Senator Magnus Abe (representing Rivers South East) Nyesom Wike (Middle), Chibudom Nwuche former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives.
Our correspondent reports that in an interview with journalists on why she joined the 2023 governorship race some months ago, Ituboh said that she was motivated to contest because of the alleged hatred meted on Rivers State workers by former Governor Nyesom Wike.
Ituboh, who spoke on the sidelines of the visit of some members of a group, the New Dimension for Rivers State paid her a visit in her country home in Ogbakiri, Emohua Local Government Area of the state, she had alleged that the Wike administration impoverished Rivers people.
She also criticized Wike on his on the crises with Fubara stating that no king reigns forever, noting that the attitude of some political gladiators is de-marketing the state, and urged them to sheath their swords and allow the current administration to be.
She said, “I decided to contest that 2023 election not because I wanted to show myself up to Rivers people, no.
“We have been in the struggle for a very long time and when the immediate past governor of Rivers State came on board, I saw something different.
“I saw real hatred for the workers of Rivers State. I don’t know any other language that I will use other than that hatred, because someone who will be in power for eight years, didn’t promote any worker in Rivers State.
“For that number of years, he didn’t pay any pensioner gratuity. People were retiring and going home.
“When they want to key you in your monthly pension as you retire today, they will leave you for about two years, nobody is paying you a dime.”
Before she emerged as the gubernatorial candidate for the Labor Party, Ituboh was the state chairman of the Nigeria Labor Congress, NLC, which gave former Governor Wike a tough time on issues concerning civil servants in the state.
Ituboh, who came fourth in the 2023 governorship election in Rivers State, had approached the tribunal, challenging the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
She lost at the tribunal and went ahead to the Appeal Court where she also lost.
Ituboh went further with her case to the Supreme Court.
She, however, announced that her case against the governor had been dropped at the Supreme Court, a few days after her visit to Governor Fubara.
