Four commissioners loyal to former Governor Wike, yet serving in the cabinet of present governor Fubara has resigned in quick succession and with apparent dissatisfaction. They are Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice; Barr Isaac Kamalu, Commissioner of Finance; George Kelly, Commissioner of Works and Henry Ogiri, Commissioner of Power.
Governor Fubara had directed their redeployment in a slight cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday 22nd April 2024.
Prof. Adangor, the first to resign, rejected his redeployment from his Ministry of Justice to that of Special Duties (Governor’s Office), saying that his decision was for the sake of his integrity.
Barr. Kamalu the second to exit, did so as a reaction to his redeployment from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Employment Generation & Economic Empowerment.
Recall that President Tinubu’s intervention in the Wike-Fubara face-off led to the reappointment of both men as commissioners, after their resignation along with others last December in the thick of the face-off.
Kelly and Ogiri had resigned a little earlier when they received appointments from the federal government.
Prof. Adangor, in his resignation letter, captioned, ‘Cabinet Reshufflement: Notice of Rejection of Deployment and Resignation from the Rivers State, Executive Council”, wrote: “My attention has been drawn to your letter dated 23rd April 2024 and widely circulated on social media whereby I was “deployed to the Ministry of Special Duties (Governor’s Office).
“Further to the referenced letter, I hereby give you notice of my rejection of the said deployment and resignation from the Rivers State Executive Council with effect from the 24th day of April 2024.
“I wish to state for the record, that I am no longer willing to continue to serve in the administration of His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, in any capacity whatsoever.
“It is important to mention that the Governor of Rivers State had in the past couple of weeks willfully interfered with the performance of my duties as the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State by directing me not to defend, oppose, or appear in suits instituted against the Honourable Attorney-General and the Government of Rivers State by persons admittedly hired and sponsored by the Government of Rivers State.
“Having served the Government and good people of Rivers State dutifully as a member of the Rivers State Executive Council for the past five (5) years, it has become imperative for me to quit the administration to preserve my reputation.”
Barr. Kamalu in his resignation letter, wrote, “Your Excellency would recall that I served under the Administration of His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, GSSRS, POS (now Honorable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja) originally as Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning (2015-2019) and subsequently as Commissioner for Finance – with oversight responsibility for the Rivers State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (2019 – 2023).
Again, he stated that: “regrettably, the peace in government that we, citizens and residents of the state desire has remained out-of-reach.
“This has affected our ability to protect and defend the gains we made these past years. It is not the point of service that is important but the climate.
“Our present circumstance makes service delivery extremely challenging. Given this, I find it difficult to accept the redeployment; I do not accept it; I reject it.”
The development rekindled another round of political tension in Rivers State.***
