Your Words Don’t Matter!” – PANDEF Chieftain Dismisses Wike’s Attacks On Fubara

A prominent member of the Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), Anabs Sara-Igbe, has downplayed the controversy surrounding recent comments made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in which he referred to the suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, as “my boy.

According to Sara-Igbe, there’s nothing unusual about the statement, pointing to the long-standing relationship between the two politicians.

In an interview with the BBC on Saturday, Wike insisted that he was not in a personal feud with Fubara. Instead, he claimed his political fight was aimed at individuals allegedly seeking to exploit the situation for their own gain.

Wike said, “That one is not a battle. He (Fubara) is my boy, he is my son. Why will I fight with him? I’m only fighting against people who want to steal what they did not work for. If you don’t defeat them, they will believe they are in charge. You must defeat them completely.”

Responding to the statement, Sara-Igbe urged the people of Rivers State to focus on peace and unity rather than semantics. He emphasized that maintaining calm was far more important than how Wike chooses to address Fubara, considering their close ties.

“Wike and Fubara have shared a relationship spanning many years. He may choose to speak about the Governor however he wants. What Rivers people truly desire is lasting peace. We’re not concerned about the language he uses—we know they’ve worked together for a long time,” he stated.

Sara-Igbe also expressed hope that Fubara would be reinstated before the six-month emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu on March 18, 2025, comes to an end. Additionally, he dismissed Wike’s criticism of political figures like Abiye Sekibo, Austin Opara, and Celestine Omehia—whom Wike accused of misleading Fubara—as unsurprising, given their shared political background.