I Was Offered ₦5bn Bribe to Impeach Fubara – Rivers Chief of Staff

Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended governor of Rivers State, was promised N5 billion to arrange for his principal’s impeachment, according to Edison Ehie, his chief of staff.

Ehie asserted during an appearance on Sunday Politics on Channels Television that he had proof of the bribe offer saved on his phone.

“I can also open my phone to show you, in the beginning of October 2023, when they approached me with a bribe of N5 billion. It is here in my phone,

“It was for impeachment. It’s here. I have it and I have printed it and distributed it, in case, in their evil imagination, they decide to attack me. I already have a son and a brother,” he said.

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According to Ehie, the offer was made when he was the Rivers State House of Assembly’s majority leader.

Additionally, the Chief of Staff refuted allegations that he ordered the bombing of the Rivers Assembly complex on October 30, 2023.

During a news conference last Friday, George Nwaeke, a former Head of Service in the state, made the accusation.

Although he acknowledged he was unaware of the exact amount, Nwaeke had claimed to have seen a bag of cash being given to Ehie at Government House so that he could carry out the surgery.

“It is very important to clarify that I had no hand and was not part of the burning down of the Rivers State House of Assembly,” Ehie stated, dismissing the accusations as untrue and politically motivated.

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“Like everyone else, I woke up in the early hours of the 30th of October 2023 to hear of the burning down of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

Ehie stated that he had instructed his lawyers to file a lawsuit against Nwaeke for criminal libel.

“I will not join issues completely with Mr. George Nwaeke because I have already instructed my lawyers to file an issue of criminal libel against him, and I hope he is very prepared to substantiate his claims and his allegations,” he said.

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He further alleged that Nwaeke had sought financial assistance from him on the same day he resigned as head of service.

Since Fubara’s disagreement with his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Rivers State has been in disarray.

President Bola Tinubu dismissed the governor and his deputy on 18 March and proclaimed a state of emergency in the state.

Ibok-Ete Ibas, Rivers State’s only administrator, subsequently suspended all political officeholders in the state on March 26.