Fubara: Rivers Oil Installations Safe And Sound

• Who could be spreading false narratives about events in Rivers State?

By PHC Telegraph

Governor Siminalayi Fubara says oil installations in Rivers State which are part of critical assets controlled by the Federal Government are safe despite unsubstantiated claims that they are being bombed.

Fubara who appeared in public for the first time at the Salvation Ministry on Sunday morning, following President Bola Tinubu’s unprecedented decision to flout constitutional provisions in respect of a declaration of a state of emergency said on Monday that claims suggesting oil facilities in the State are under attack were false.

“Our attention has, once again, been drawn to a flurry of malicious, fake and imaginary videos of purported explosions on oil and gas facilities in Rivers State.

“Virtually all the fake videos have been linked to alleged militant groups in the State, with the creators of such content trying very hard tol connect them to supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara”, Fubara said in the statement issued by Nelson Chukwudi, his Chief Press Secretary.

The Governor, the first to be suspended from office by a serving President noted that communities where these incidents are alleged to have occurred have so far reacted.

These communities, he revealed, have dismissed suggestions that explosions have taken place around oil and gas facilities in their domains.

Fubara assured the nation that all critical government assets within the State are safe, secure and functioning efficiently.

Calling A Dog A Bad Name In Order To Hang It:

But who could be behind the spread of false news relating to so-called militant bombings of oil installations in Rivers State?

Who is trying through social media posts to associate the Governor of Rivers State with faceless militant groups?

How did security reports forwarded to the President ignore the fact that Fubara was already complying with the decision of the Supreme Court as at the time he (the President) met with leaders of the Niger Delta region?

Who hid these bare-faced facts about what was happening in Rivers State, including moves by Fubara to present the State budget, from the President?

These are questions that rational minds in the country are asking at this time as the demonization of Governor Fubara by a ring of powerful persons within the Tinubu administration intensifies.

Many believe that these persons who may have the ear of Mr. President or who openly claim to be part of his kitchen cabinet might be spinning a web.

The aim, we have learnt through impeccable sources, is to paint the image that Fubara whose peaceful disposition is well known to Nigerians is enjoying a romance with militants who are warning they would disrupt oil operations in the Niger Delta if the assault on Rivers people continues.

“But more critical is their desperation to change the narrative which appears to favour Fubara. So, they are employing everything, including the theory of the big lie”, a source said in Port Harcourt.

Another commentator who spoke under conditions of anonymity stated, “These forces with known interests designed to destabilise the Rivers State and possibly lay hands on its resources are believed to be the masterminds of horrifying tales of violence that are also backed by recycled pictorial or video images which are creating the impression that militants are on the rampage.”

Assignment Rivers State: Moving In Members Of The Team:

 

While Nigerians including former President Goodluck Jonathan, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, PDP Governors, labour unions and non governmental organisations are condemning the President’s action in Rivers State, moves are allegedly being made by those that are interested in the spoils of war to take political advantage of the situation on ground.

Already, the presence of Ojukaye Flag Amachree in the company of the Sole Administrator of Rivers State has stirred the hornet’s nest.

Some argue that the presence of Ojukaye who works in the office of the National Security Adviser might be proof of the long arm of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike.

Wike is reputed to have influenced his appointment at the federal level.

Others however say that Ojukaye may well be an eye of the NSA whose name has never been linked to the Rivers crisis.

Whatever it is, Rivers people and other Nigerians are keeping an eye on the one-time Loca Government Chairman.

Reports have claimed that the Rivers Sole Administrator may be planning to appoint local government sole administrators.

While a report claimed that a list of possible appointees would be announced that has not happened.

But rumours which are readily available on the streets say the same persons who have been masterminds of the fight against Fubara which has resulted in what many groups such as the NBA and civil society organisations describe as constitutional infractions are being linked to speculations of a state capture.

Those claim to know the administrator insist he is a no nonsense man. They say those planning to use him to achieve selfish ends may be in for a huge surprise.

He had said on arrival that Rivers State is peaceful. Many here pray that he would keep it so

Chukwudi: We Have No Links With Militants 

Chukwudi’s statement which threw light on the State of oil facilities in Rivers State absorbed the Rivers Governor of any tie with militants who, according to security reports, are purportedly planning to launch attacks on hydrocarbon installations.

The statement further said, “For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has no link to any militant group, does not contemplate any such association, and has no reason to encourage any criminal group or elements, anywhere in the State or Niger Delta, to undertake any action inimical to the peace of the people or safety and security of oil and gas facilities, and by extension, the economy of the country.”

Governor Fubara, Chukwudi added, “vehemently warns purveyors of violence and economic sabotage to steer clear of the State, and avoid any attempt to use his name or capitalise on the present political crisis to foment trouble in the State.”

Recall that the Governor has repeatedly made it clear at every public event that the peace of the State matters to him.

He has also insisted publicly that he would pay any price in order to secure and sustain peace in the State, stressing that it is only in an atmosphere of peace and security that governance and development can thrive.