Another professor quits Fubara’s cabinet as new spate of resignations begins

The battle line seems finally drawn in the protracted crisis in Rivers State as another professor has exited from the cabinet.

The professor, Prince Chinedu Mmom, commissioner of education, woke the state up today, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, with a letter of resignation dated the same day.

The same day, Gift Worlu, the commissioner of housing, also threw in the towel. This is followed by a resignation letter from Ben Chioma, the commissioner for environment.

This resignation followed the ones from the commissioner for justice and attorney-general, a professor, Zaccheus Adangor, and his counterpart in the ministry of finance, Isaac Kamalu.

These were all commissioners that served ex-governor, Nyesom Wike, and handed over to Fubara, but political crisis has divided the cabinet.

Each departing commissioner referred to what they termed a toxic political atmosphere and suspicion in the cabinet.

Read also: Fubara to probe Rivers administration under Wike

It is not clear if more commissioners would quit the Fubara government but the governor has spoken fiercely in the past hours about sabotage in his government. On Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at Eleme, he even said that one particular cabinet member was fighting him from the inside and threatened to expose the one soon. Now, a spate of resignations has begun.

The resignations, the second since the political crisis between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and Fubara exploded in October 2023, have signalled the end of the relationship and are evidence that the matter has truly become irreconcilable.

The FCT Minister said last weekend there would no reconciliation; Fubara said two days ago that all hopes of reconciliation have ended.

For that reason, the only option left to him as governor is to move on (or fight on). He thus fired warning of a probe, followed by revelation that most of the projects for which his predecessor was termed ‘Mr Project’ were not fully paid for. He cried out saying he inherited huge debts.

Fubara has also said these revelations worrying his detractors were very small. “What if I reveal the big ones?”

The Wike camp which controls the defected 27 lawmakers has threatened impeachment of the governor and the Rivers All Progressives Congress (APC) led by a caretaker committee chairman, Tony Okocha, have drummed up impeachment war songs backed by 21 of the 23 local council areas in the state whose tenure expires on June 17, 2024.

The youths have divided into GDI (grassroots development initiative) for Wike and SIMplified Movement for Fubara. The atmosphere is charged.

The resignation of the cabinet members sounds like the recall of ambassadors when a big crisis or war rears up between two countries. After this, the battle line may finally be drawn.