‘Taiwo Popoola
A former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Matthew Dike, has faulted the lawmakers for preventing Governor Siminalayi Fubara from presenting the state budget—an action he described as hypocritical, given their eagerness to receive the document.
Dike, the immediate past chairman of Tai Local Government Area, explained that such a move would never have happened if Governor Fubara had acted like FCT Minister Nyesom Wike during his tenure as governor.
He recalled how lawmakers were completely subservient to Wike.
According to him, during his time in the House, when Martin Amaewhule was the Leader of the House, Wike would summon legislators at midnight or even an hour before an event, and they would comply without hesitation.
“I served in the House of Assembly for eight years, and I know the norms and the laws. So, it’s very unfortunate that they have decided to denigrate and embarrass the office of the Executive Governor of Rivers State. That has never been. We were at the beck and call of the former governor of Rivers State. Even at night, he called us an hour before any function,” he said.
The former lawmaker criticized the Assembly, now led by Amaewhule as Speaker, for making excuses about a 24-hour notice being too short or deliberately avoiding official notifications just to claim they were not informed.
He lamented that such actions paint Rivers State as indifferent to the welfare of its citizens.
He said the lawmakers’ decision to issue ultimatums while refusing to receive a budget they seemingly needed exposes their lack of credibility rather than embarrassing the governor, as they may have intended.
Dike reiterated that their behavior demonstrates a lack of understanding of the law and an absence of independent thinking.
