Nine commissioners who previously resigned from Governor Simnalayi Fubara’s cabinet have been warned by the governor not to work against his government. The commissioners are known allies of ex-Governor Nyesom Wike. They resigned at the height of the political crisis between the governor and FCT minister. The returning commissioners are Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor (SAN), Dr. Jacobson Mbina, Dr. Gift Worlu, Mrs Inime Chinwenwo-Aguma, Chukwuemeka Woke, Prof. Prince Chinedu Mmom, Dr. George Des-Kelly, Isaac Kamalu, and Austin Chioma.
In a statement issued on Monday by his media aide, Boniface Onyedi, Governor Fubara urged the returning commissioners to support the government in a way that would promote its image and not destroy it. He directed the Secretary to the State Government to assign the commissioners who were sworn in last week to their responsibilities. Only those who were present should be assigned back to their former offices as part of a birthday gift to them.
However, the governor warned the commissioners against using their positions to destroy his government. He emphasized that their actions should be about defending and promoting the government’s interests. The governor spoke at the Government House in Port Harcourt, where he swore in Edison Ehie, a former factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, as his Chief of Staff. Ehie’s appointment came after Chidi Amadi, another ally of Wike, resigned from the position amid the political crisis in the state.
The political crisis also saw Ehie resigning his membership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, where alongside four other lawmakers, he resisted an attempt by 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike to impeach Governor Fubara.