Tonye Cole’s comments come after the Court of Appeal upheld a Federal High Court ruling that invalidated the presentation and passage of the 2024 budget for Rivers State, deepening the political crisis.
Port Harcourt, Nigeria – Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2023 Rivers governorship election, has lamented that the ongoing political feud between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, is detrimental to the people of Rivers State.
During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Cole emphasized that the battle for political supremacy has stalled development in the state.
According to him, the people of Rivers are the biggest losers in the crisis, which he described as a political struggle that neglects the welfare of the populace.
“As it stands right now, the people of Rivers do not matter in the equation that is being played out,” Cole said. “If the interests of Rivers people were on the table, we would not even be where we are today. This entire fight is political, and it has to do with a very small political family.”
Cole’s comments come after the Court of Appeal upheld a Federal High Court ruling that invalidated the presentation and passage of the 2024 budget for Rivers State, deepening the political crisis.
The APC leader warned that Governor Fubara’s current predicament is affecting governance in the state. He noted that by presenting the budget back to the Rivers State House of Assembly, which is led by Martins Amaewhule of the APC, Fubara has recognized the assembly as the legitimate legislative body. This situation, Cole suggested, puts the governor in a vulnerable position, raising concerns over a potential impeachment.
“The governor finds himself in a very precarious political situation. Of course, by presenting the budget back to that assembly, what this means is that the assembly led by Martins Amaewhule is recognized as the legal assembly. Once that happens, he has to now navigate a possible impeachment issue,” Cole said.
He added that the political crisis has created a complex governance situation in Rivers State, where the governor belongs to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the state assembly is led by the APC, and the local government structure is controlled by the Action People’s Party (APP). Cole expressed concern that the fractured political landscape is hampering the state’s development, ultimately affecting ordinary citizens.
“We have a state where the governor is PDP, the House of Assembly based on the court case is APC, and you have a local government structure that is APP. So, you have three different parties running the state,” Cole concluded.
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