Civil servants in Rivers State, particularly those at the state secretariat, neglected their duties to celebrate Governor Siminalayi Fubara‘s victory at the Supreme Court against Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 election.
The workers expressed their belief that “godfathers have no place in our state.”
They gathered in the open space within the secretariat, dancing in groups to the tunes of Burna Boy and Duncan Mighty playing from loudspeakers.
They praised Fubara as a just leader who had come to uplift them. Some workers also highlighted that during Wike’s eight-year tenure, they were not promoted, while those who were promoted shortly before he assumed office did not receive the corresponding salary increase.
“For the first time in almost a decade, Fubara put a smile on our faces by gifting us the sum of N100,000 for the Christmas celebration. What else can we sit but to thank God that he has made it possible for our dear governor to be at the Supreme Court,” says one of the civil servants who works in the Ministry of Information and Communications.
“Rivers is finally free from godfatherism and oppression. It is not right for any man to play God no matter the height he has attained,” a worker in the ministry of commerce who simply identified himself as “Baba’ said.
Rivers has been facing a severe political crisis, with politicians supporting Fubara and former Governor Nyesom Wike constantly clashing.
