The camp of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and those loyal to the former governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, traded words on Wednesday as the commission of inquiry probing the burning of some local government secretariats concluded its sitting.

Three local government secretariats in the state were burnt on October 7 following the mayhem that trailed the conduct of the controversial October 5 local government election in the state.

The probe panel had invited Wike and others, including the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Tony Okocha, but they all shunned the invitation.

The PUNCH reports that former local government chairmen of Ikwerre, Obio/Akpor, Ahoada West and Eleme were summoned by the commission but also shunned the invitation.

Justifying his non-appearance of Wike and others, Okocha said he did not receive any invitation, adding “As far as I am concerned, this one is a political witch-hunt and I’m too big to fall for that trap.”

However, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, said the refusal of Wike and his allies to honour the panel’s invitation was disappointing.

Fubara had, in early October, inaugurated the seven-man panel headed by Justice Ibiwengi Minakiri to investigate the arson, killings and wanton destruction of property in some local government headquarters of the state.

The development followed the conduct of the local government election in the state after the police personnel deployed in the councils vacated and returned to base.

In the ensuing melee, some of the structures at the local governments were vandalised and burnt, with the two camps pointing fingers over the incident.

The panel summoned Wike through courier service and newspaper advertorial signed by its chairman to appear before it on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.

Speaking at the end of the sitting of the panel on Tuesday, Justice Minakiri said the FCT minister did not honour the invitation, saying the day was reserved for him to clarify some grey areas.

“Today’s sitting was actually for the former governor of Rivers State to appear before this commission to straighten some points that we needed to know.

“That is just the only reason we are sitting today, otherwise our sitting would have ended yesterday (Monday). But we had waited hoping that he would be here.

“So today will mark the last day we are sitting. As we rise, that brings us to the end of the sitting of this commission, except there is a direction from His Excellency to do otherwise as permitted by the law under which we are operating.”

Justice Minakiri expressed worry that Wike and some other invitees neither appeared nor were represented by any legal counsel.

“You can see from the way the hall is looking, there is actually no strange face here. There is nobody here.

“So, in the absence of all that, we made publications inviting people we want to hear from alongside His Excellency (Nyesom Wike) but I have noticed that there’s nobody here. So that brings us to the end of the sitting,” the panel’s chairman stated.

She added that the panel would submit its report despite the refusal of some of the invitees to appear before it.

“I want to thank every one of you that has been coming, and we have those that just came in today and to tell you that you have made our job easy for us.

“Your presence encouraged us all through our sittings. We do hope that at the end of the day, whatever comes up after this sitting will be to the benefit of Rivers State, the entirety of Rivers State and the people of Rivers State. So I want to say thank you so much for your presence.”

Speaking on his absence at the panel sitting, Okocha said he had just returned from a trip to China and proceeded with the party’s congresses which was ongoing.

The APC chieftain said he could not have been invited on the pages of newspapers.

“I was not invited. I don’t even know about it. I just came back from China and commenced the APC congresses, which started on Saturday till the 30thof this month.

“So, nobody invited me. I couldn’t have been invited in the pages of the newspaper if anything like that had happened.

“Second is the fact that you cannot shave somebody’s hair behind the person. So whatever they want to do, let them carry on. I don’t know. I have no business with that.

“At the fullness of time, when it becomes important, when it becomes necessary when they deem it fit that I should be invited, if for whatever reason they have any information about me or against me, I’ll be game.”

He, however, said, “For now, nobody invited me. What you are just telling me now as far as I am concerned, is news. Don’t forget that I had noted in my media engagements that the governor is at liberty to set up any commission and as much as he wants.”

Okocha wondered why no panel had been set up by the governor to investigate the bombing of the state House of Assembly last year and the attack on the state APC secretariat.

He described the motive of the panel of inquiry as a political witch-hunt.

“I also said that in doing so, the governor (Fubara) should look at the fire incident in the assembly and he should look at the bombing and fire incident at the secretariat of the APC so that it will be inclusive.

“But as far as I am concerned, this one is a political witch-hunt and I’m too big to fall for that trap,” Chief Okocha stated.

Johnson, however, countered, saying that the shunning of the commission would not prevent it from submitting its report.

“Well, it’s quite disappointing that these people refused to turn up. Well, you can’t fault them.

“Their absence will not stop the work of the commission of inquiry. They (the panel) will submit their findings and then the next step will follow,” he said. (The PUNCH)