The crisis in Rivers State took a new turn on Friday when three more commissioners took a bow out of Governor Simnalayi Fubara’s cabinet.
The commissioners who dumped the Rivers state governor’s cabinet are: the commissioner of transportation, Dr. Jacobson Nbina; the commissioner of housing, Dr. Gift Worlu; and the commissioner of environment, Austen Ben-Chioma.
The commissioners conveyed their resignation in different letters, which were addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government.
News About Nigeria learnt that two of the three commissioners, Nbina and Ben-Chioma also served as commissioners during Nyesom Wike’s tenure as governor of the state.
Also, four other commissioners had earlier resigned from the governor’s cabinet.
The commissioners include; the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Inime Chinwenwo-Aguma, the Commissioner for Works, George-Kelly Alabo; the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, SAN; and the Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Woke.
In their resignation letters, the commissioners cited personal issues and “other pressing commitments” as the reasons for their resignation.
Following their resignation, lawmakers loyal to Fubara, while declaring their seats vacant, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct fresh elections to replace them.
Also, aside from the resignation of the commissioners, the ongoing crisis in Rivers State led to the defection of 27 lawmakers from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The crisis in the state keeps deepening regardless of efforts by President Bola Tinubu to settle the rift between the governor and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Wike, who is the immediate past governor of the state.
