O.J Akiri Replies National Good Governance Advocates

• Says attack on Governor Fubara grossly misplaced

By PHC Telegraph

Chief OJ Akiri, a retired oil company executive and one-time Principal Secretary Government House has reacted to a statement credited to a group known as National Good Governance Advocates.

The group is quoted as saying that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has been working behind the scene to smear the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Rear Admiral Ibo-Ete Ibas over financial dealings allegedly linked to his six-month administration.

“It goes without saying”, Akiri noted “that this Group must be a mindlessly self-serving body of sycophants.”

He described them as “opportunistic “wayfarers”, awaiting some solid parting crumbs from the SOLAD’s table.”

Akiri said Fubara has main stoic silence and urged the group to respect the integrity of the governor.

“We enjoin these attention seekers, to rather accord the Governor his deserved encomiums, as one whose cherishable and desirable return is indeed considered overdue”, the former Principal Secretary, Government House added.

Below is the full text of Akiri’s response to the little known group:

“The Rivers people have for nearly six months been regrettably boxed into an involuntary standstill, in spite of their hitherto resolute and seemingly unstoppable march towards the development of their State.

In effect, the Rivers State Governor had such a breath-taking schedule in projects commissioning and inspection. And the Rivers people were obviously elated as they trooped out to witness the launching of these projects, invariably perceived as their due share of democratic dividends, as also enjoyed by their counterparts elsewhere in the federation.

Suddenly, and like an Israeli rare reconnaissance flight, what was initially perceived as an ephemeral in-house “digital glitch”, (to borrow our new scape-goat lexicon in recent times, ranging from INEC bungling, JAMB or WAEC), has unfortunately metamorphosed into a full blown intractable crisis.
Rivers State has been deprived of its prized democratic freedom badge, and rather been forcefully arraigned in a liberticidal uniform, the strange vogue in a State of Emergency, which in earnest never spared the very personification of our democratic institution, by sacking our democratically elected Governor, and going further to dismantle the State’s democratic apparatchik of governance, notably the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The Nigerian Bar Association, along with the finest fleurons in our legal profession, the Agbakobas, the Falanas etc, shouted themselves hoarse, alluding to blue murder, as they imagined the unfolding confusion this whole episode would trigger in the polity.
The situation was further compounded by the unflattering Ostrich-head-burying posturing of the highest Court in the Land, the Supreme Court, which has naturally given rise to a staccato of judicial errors and a string of foreseeable illegalities.

The Military Sole Administrator is of course defiantly adamant, as the Emergency Rule is a “permit-all” license. Rear Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas has tenaciously held on to conducting of Local Government Elections on the 30th of August, in utter disregard of the constitutionally prescribed compulsory 90-day notification time-line, vis-à-vis the participating political parties or even the wider electorate.

In all these, you may want to ask, what has been the reaction of the unjustly sacked Governor of the State: a LOUD and DEAFENING silence, to the disenchantment of his numerous admirers and die-hard supporters.

Paradoxically, he went ahead to assemble his admirers and supporters, publicly declaring to them, his unconditional dedication to PEACE and RECONCILIATION. He went on to unambiguously enjoin his supporters to collapse all the interactive platforms of the SIMPLIFIED MOVEMENT, while also declaring an Ayatollah-like FATUA, on any person or group that may choose to disobey his stance. He has unapologetically opted for RECONCILIATION, declaring to all and sundry that Gratitude for him is the true JEWEL of character, and that he owed his office to the efforts and unalloyed commitment of Chief Nyesom Wike.

For the forthcoming Local Govt Elections, all the Chairmanship and Councillorship slots for the Janus-headed PDAPC have been filled, without any known recourse to Governor SIM Fubara. 

As we speak no media, print, radio or social, has reported Governor SIM Fubara’s disapprobative comments on these issues, let alone his voiced protestation. 

It is in the light of the foregoing that all true lovers of peace in our clime, must rise in unison to condemn in very strong terms, the infantile and demeaning vituperations of a faceless group of sycophants, that call themselves the National Good Governance Advocates. Hear the renegades, as I quote a recent report:

“They accused the Governor of concocting figures to implicate the Sole Administrator of inflating contracts worth nearly half a trillion, to loot the treasury ahead of the 2027 Elections”

It goes without saying that this Group must be a mindlessly self-serving body of sycophants, and worse still opportunistic “wayfarers”, awaiting some solid parting crumbs from the SOLAD’s table. And so to justify their pay, they have opted for the the coward’s pathway of ventilating utterly fallacious and infantile innuendos against a harmless Governor. 

But who can believe these agents of mischief, that Sir SIM Fubara would stoop so low, as to leak documents to implicate a Military Administrator, who is on his way out.

The SIM we know will NEVER indulge in such a demeaning and debasing pastime.
As if the moment is rife for waxing such kiddies’ tales at moon light, one of such characters appeared in Arise Television to say that our Governor’s refusal to grant him audience, might have denied him crucial information for stemming the activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.

One may ask: why this flurry of spurious allegations at this time? Perhaps they are intended to deprive the Governor of Rivers State deservedly glittering laurels and thunderous plaudits, for his unprecedented level-headedness as the exceptional and unrivaled Man of Peace, for which he has said, no price is too high to pay.

We enjoin these attention seekers, to rather accord the Governor his deserved encomiums, as one whose cherishable and desirable return is indeed considered overdue.”