The suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has refuted allegations made by former Head of Service Dr. George Nwaeke, calling them politically motivated and urging Nigerians to disregard them.
In a personally signed statement on Saturday, Fubara described Nwaeke’s claims as false and intended to mislead the public.
“My attention has been drawn to a press briefing by the former Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, aired on Channels Television on Friday, 28th March 2025.
Ordinarily, I would not have responded to his claims, but to correct the erroneous impression such allegations may create in the minds of the people and the disaffection it is bound to cause in the state and the country,” Fubara said.
Addressing Nwaeke’s claim that he was aware of plans to support Bala Mohammed’s alleged 2027 presidential bid, Fubara dismissed it as baseless.
“It is laughable that Dr. Nwaeke would be part of any high-level political meeting as Head of Service, much more sitting in my alleged night meetings with Bala Mohammed and militants like he claimed. Howbeit, none of such meetings ever held,” he stated.
The suspended governor also rejected allegations of plotting attacks on oil pipelines, insisting he had never engaged with militants to destabilise the state.
“It is ludicrous for Dr. Nwaeke to claim that he was aware of my meetings to encourage attacks on oil pipelines and other national assets in the state, as there was no time I held any meeting with militants or any criminal group to destabilise the state,” he said.
Fubara reiterated his stance as a leader committed to peace, stating, “It is on record that I have been at the forefront preaching peace in the state even in the face of obvious provocations.”
He further accused Nwaeke of acting under external influence. “The truth is that Dr. Nwaeke has been compromised, and whatever he is saying is only aimed at fulfilling his promise to those who may have paid or coerced him to lie against me,” Fubara alleged.
Calling on Nigerians to disregard Nwaeke’s claims, Fubara insisted the accusations were part of a desperate attempt to discredit his administration and undermine the president’s peace efforts.
“I call on all well-meaning Nigerians and the good people of Rivers State to disregard everything said by Dr. Nwaeke as they are mere desperate attempts to discredit me and my administration, and undermine the peace process by Mr. President,” he concluded.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Florence Nwaeke, wife of former Rivers State Head of Service George Nwaeke, had raised the alarm over her husband’s whereabouts, expressing fear for his safety.
Late on Friday, a distraught Mrs Nwaeke told journalists that she had lost contact with her husband after he arrived in Abuja.
“When he got to Abuja, he called that he had landed. I said, ‘Thank God’,” she recounted.
“The next thing I saw this night: people were calling me and said he got an interview. I said, ‘What interview? Interview for what?’ Not until I saw things flying on the internet that he granted an interview. What happened? I said, ‘That is not my husband. That is not my husband.’”