Chaos in Port Harcourt: Wike vs. Fubara Supporters Clash at Heated Town Hall

 

Photo: The Nation News

High drama unfolded yesterday in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, as a town hall meeting meant for dialogue turned into a shouting match between supporters of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and suspended Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

What was supposed to be a platform for concerned citizens to express their views on the state’s ongoing political crisis quickly spiraled into chaos.

The spark came when Bright Amaewhule, leader of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), took the mic. He didn’t hold back—crediting GDI for Fubara’s rise to the governorship and claiming that the minister had little to do with it.

“We took Sim around all the local governments before the campaign even began. It wasn’t the minister,” Amaewhule declared. He went on to accuse Fubara's new inner circle of turning him against the very party and people who made him governor. That hit a nerve.

Hilda Dokubo, Chair of the Labour Party in Rivers and seated right in front, couldn’t take it. She stood up and called him out: “I can’t sit here and listen to this.” Although she was eventually persuaded to sit back down, the mood had already shifted.

Things escalated further when another speaker, Kenwell Ibanibo, responded sharply. “Okay, GDI helped him—fine. But tell me, what did Fubara do to deserve impeachment after just five months? Who gave that order? Someone thinks they own Rivers State.”

That triggered a storm.

Supporters of Wike, led by Chibike Ikenga, the factional APC chairman, interrupted Ibanibo mid-speech. He fired back, insisting he had the floor: “You talked, I didn’t interrupt you.” But by now, both sides were yelling over each other.

One Wike loyalist could be heard shouting, “Insult Wike now! You’ll still crawl back, begging! The man who’s lying down hasn’t stood up yet, and you’re talking trash!”

Dokubo wasn’t having it: “He won’t lie down! I said he won’t lie down! Isn’t Wike the one lying low right now!?”

Amid the uproar, the event anchor struggled to restore order. Even activist Jake Epelle stepped in, urging both camps to calm down. Security had to step up too, as bouncers took position around the hall.

Eventually, in an attempt to dial down the heat, Ibanibo agreed to leave the stage temporarily. That helped settle things, and the town hall resumed, though the atmosphere remained tense.

Source: The Nation News