A former Commissioner of Works in Rivers State, David Briggs, has accused Bola Tinubu of using divide-and-rule tactics to create political instability in both Rivers and Lagos states.
In an interview published by Symfoni, Briggs linked the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State and the leadership struggle in the Lagos State House of Assembly to Tinubu’s political strategy, which he described as manipulative and divisive.
Briggs recalled that during a November 2023 interview on AIT, when Tinubu intervened in the Rivers crisis, he had predicted that the intervention would not yield any positive results due to Tinubu’s similar political approach to that of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
“I said so then, and I still maintain it now because Mr. President and the present Minister of the Federal Capital Territory have a commonality — both in attitude, character, and operation,” Briggs stated.
According to him, Tinubu and Wike are politically aggressive, possess an insatiable appetite for wealth accumulation, and have an unrelenting ambition to control others.
Briggs revealed that during a meeting with President Tinubu on the Rivers crisis, the President openly criticized Governor Siminalayi Fubara and suggested that the 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) had “crossed the Red Sea” and could not return.
“That meeting began with a condemnation of the governor,” Briggs stated.
He added that Tinubu described Fubara’s actions as an insult to democracy and made it clear that he was not there to resolve the crisis but to humiliate the Rivers State governor.
“The President was already biased,” he said.
Briggs accused Tinubu of encouraging pro-Wike lawmakers to sustain their legal battle against Fubara despite the governor’s efforts to restore peace by withdrawing his own legal cases.
“That is the case with which they are punishing Rivers State now — so who is fooling who?” he asked.
Briggs warned that Wike’s political tactics are driven by vengeance and ethnic manipulation. He claimed that without the support of Ijaw leaders, Wike would have struggled to achieve political prominence.
According to Briggs, it was an Ijaw leader, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, who insisted that Wike should contest and win the local government chairmanship after the PDP national leadership initially rejected his candidacy.
He expressed disappointment that Wike has now turned against the Ijaw people, labeling them as weak and incapable of winning elections.
Briggs further alleged that Tinubu’s divide-and-rule strategy is not limited to Rivers State but also extends to Lagos, where he is reportedly influencing the leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
“When Tinubu was governor of Lagos State, all the local governments had two leaders at a time so that he could control the loyalty of both,” Briggs alleged. “That is exactly what he’s doing in Lagos now. He wants to divide the loyalty of APC members so that he remains in control.”
Briggs claimed that Tinubu’s suspicion toward the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, began after he allegedly contributed to the fundraising of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign.
“From that day, Tinubu declared him an enemy,” Briggs said. “What is happening in Lagos now is a direct result of Tinubu’s political tactics.”
Briggs warned that Wike’s political career could unravel if he continues to alienate the Ijaw people, who played a crucial role in his rise to power.
“Wike uses people and he dumps them. (Former President Goodluck) Jonathan helped him to become governor, Jonathan appointed him as a minister as an Ijaw man. That popularised him and gave him the spread in Nigeria,” he said.
“So for him to now say these (Ijaw) people are minorities, and useless, they cannot win elections, I believe that he has 48 hours to rescind that else some of us will be forced, not minding the barriers and not minding that some of us also have the DNA of being Ikwerres, we will be able to let him know.”
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