Bello, Wike: Agenda for Tinubu

By Joseph Momodu

What comes to mind when you hear names like Yahaya Adoza Bello and Nyesom Wike? What are some of the things they have in common? Many would agree that they are both former governors who have irrepressibility in common.

By now, anyone who is a keen observer of political events should know that they both want to have their ways in the scheme of things. But in life, we can’t win all the time. ‘’You win some, you lose some’’ is one of natural laws that has been sacrosanct in this world from time immemorial.

Both of them were successful in installing their successors in their respective states.

However, unlike Wike’s successor, Bello’s successor has decided to stick with him come rain or shine. But this piece isn’t about whose loyalty is stronger between the successors. It is about what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should know and do, not only to avert future recurrences but also for the sake of his legacy.

Let me start with the Wike situation before delving into Bello. Speaking about the crisis on Channels TV Politics Today, the embattled governor of Rivers, Siminalayi Fubara said he had kept all “understandings” despite the continued face-off.

He said: “We all know the issue. It is very simple. It has to do with the issue of power and control. You have all seen it in this case. If election had been held in Rivers and council chairmen had been inaugurated in a normal situation do we even need anybody to go and obstruct them from entering the Secretariat?

“I don’t think there is any understanding we had that I haven’t kept. There is no understanding that we had that I haven’t kept. Like I said I won’t want to discuss those issues.”

The governor also raised concerns about Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis because only his name was mentioned.

He said: “I don’t have any issue with the President’s intervention. But I am a bit concerned when my name was only mentioned. But like I said since it is coming from the President, I have no comments about it.

“This issue is simple. It is as simple as an ABC. Everyone in Nigeria and Rivers knows where this issue is coming from. It is not rocket science. The issue is not Fubara.”

Meanwhile Wike has denied allegations made by the governor that the issues have to do with ‘’power and control.’’ According to him, the crisis in Rivers State is as a result of Governor Siminalayi Fubara attempting to remove the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule.

Also speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Wike said: “Has Fubara told you I demanded any money from him? I have never done that,” Wike stated, dismissing rumours of personal conflict.

“The problem is that he plotted a coup to remove the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, and the thing boomeranged against him.”

For the sake of argument, let us agree that Wike is right. The question is: officially, what dog does he have in the fight? He has governed the state for eight years and he is currently the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. It means he should be more focused on doing his job as a minister. Politicians won’t see it this way. But the electorate are wondering why he has so much time on his hand to be as involved in Rivers as he is.

Enter Yahaya Bello. Bello and the EFCC have been in the news due to allegations and investigations relating to financial misconduct during his tenure as governor of Kogi State.

Bello, who has served as the governor of the state for eight years, has been associated with various controversies concerning the state’s finances. The EFCC, Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, has taken steps to investigate claims of financial impropriety, which include allegations of misappropriation of funds, money laundering, and other financial irregularities.

But the process has not gone smoothly as Bello has been evading arrest and avoiding the court. According to reports, Bello has snubbed the court on about seven occasions and has made a huge drama out of the case. The Kogi State governor, Usman Ododo who has immunity has been consistent in giving Bello cover as the latter no longer enjoys immunity. The irony is that both of them are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as President Bola Tinubu.

The Bello situation is taking a toll on the image of the anti-graft agency which is under the executive arm of government. A social commentator, Ife Salako on X (former Twitter) said: ‘’DSS traced Bristol, a journalist, everywhere till they arrested him in Port Harcourt. Here they are using court to beg Yahaya Bello, to come out from under his bed. There’s a reason Nigerian politicians feel like demi gods. The damn institutions!’’

Like Wike, whom, to be fair, is not doing poorly (according to the Nigerian standard) as FCT minister, but drawing negative attention to his principal, Tinubu with his involvement with Rivers politics, Bello and his ‘’protégé’’ Ododo are doing the same with running battle with the EFCC. They are drawing negative attention to the Tinubu administration.

While Tinubu may not want to go the Obasanjo route by being involved in almost all the political decisions taken under his watch, he should be careful how he stands aloof. He shouldn’t overdo the aloofness things as it could further affect the image of his administration.

There have been too many calls for Tinubu to intervene in the Rivers situation and Bello versus EFCC situation. Bode George was one of those who recently asked Tinubu to act fast to put an end to the Rivers mayhem. Similarly, several well-meaning Nigerians have urged the president to call the Kogi governor to order in regards the Bello situation.

Some observers have read meaning to his speech in support of the EFCC a few days ago. They see it as a sign that Tinubu is beginning to act.

Tinubu charged Nigerians from all walks of life to close ranks and raise stronger voices against corruption.

He gave the charge on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the 6th EFCC- National Judicial Institute, NJI’s Workshop for Justices and Judges.  The President pointed out that corruption had become a cancer denying the nation the full benefits of its God-given resources and for its corrosive effects to be destroyed, Nigerians must rise up combatively against it.

“No Nigerian is immune from corruption, a cancer which continues to deny the nation the full benefits of its God-given resources. Rather than look up only to the anti-corruption agencies for a solution to this malaise, I believe it is in our enlightened collective interest to close ranks and aggressively tackle this common enemy”, he said.

Tinubu, who spoke through Vice President Kashim Shettima applauded rising improvement in the prosecution of corruption matters owing to positive developments in the justice sector reforms, admitted that challenges impeding the speedy adjudication of corruption cases should be frontally tackled. Some of them, he noted, include “frivolous applications and appeals, intimidation of judges by counsel, judgment not based on facts of cases but on technicalities”. He commended the EFCC for its courageous and focussed efforts in combating corrupt practices and pledged more support to the Commission. “We will also continue to support the work of the EFCC to ensure that it continues to deliver its statutory mandate without let or hindrance”, he said.

We hope that it is a silver lining. We hope this will have a great effect on how Yahaya Bello conducts himself going forward.