Reynolds Bekinbo Dagogo-Jack, the former Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power, has delivered a scathing assessment of the political impasse in Rivers State, asserting that the incumbent Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, would have found it “impossible” to succeed as governor had he faced a similar legislative rebellion.
Speaking during a weekend interview on Arise Television, Dagogo-Jack characterised the group of 27 lawmakers opposed to Governor Siminalayi Fubara as “snakes,” suggesting their primary loyalty lies with an individual rather than the state they were elected to serve.
Dagogo-Jack, a seasoned administrator and civil engineer, argued that the current turbulence is not a reflection of Governor Fubara’s performance but rather the result of a calculated political “agenda” that encountered an unexpected “glitch.”
“There was an agenda. The agenda ran into a glitch. Since then, there has been effort to recover instead of pulling back, withdrawing, apologising and allowing the governor to do his tenure as everybody else has done,” he remarked.
He further noted that the crisis would likely have befallen any governor hailing from the same region, framing it as a systematic attempt to undermine the executive.
Drawing a direct comparison to the previous administration, Dagogo-Jack contended that the infrastructure achievements of the Wike era, specifically the various flyover bridges, would have been unattainable under the current climate of legislative hostility.
“How many people can live in a house with 27 snakes?” Dagogo-Jack questioned. “Even former governor Wike, if he had 27 snakes when he was there, he won’t build all these flyover bridges. He won’t have the peace of mind.”
The former Taskforce Chairman praised Governor Fubara for his “calm, calculating, and disciplined” approach, suggesting that a more volatile leader would have already “fallen into the trap” set by his detractors.
He lamented the toll the crisis has taken on the state’s residents and the economy, noting that the constant political warfare makes it difficult to fairly evaluate the Governor’s progress. “It’s difficult to even say you want to assess Fubara because where are you starting from? He’s fighting, he’s working, he’s fighting. He can’t sleep,” he concluded.
