Wike names ex-Rivers accountant-general declared wanted by EFCC for alleged N435bn fraud as successor

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday named the state’s former Accountant-General, Fubara Siminialaye, as his successor.

The governor had supported Siminialaye who was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged N435 billion fraud in May to win the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket the same month.

Wike, who spoke at the commissioning of the twin structures holding the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences and the Faculty of Clinical Sciences in Port Harcourt, promised to complete all the ongoing projects in the state before the end of his tenure.

Wike had said last month that he has not anointed anybody as his successor in the state.

READ ALSO: 2023: Wike bans use of residential areas as campaigns offices in Rivers

The governor, who spoke at an October 25 state banquet dinner put together to celebrate the conferment of a distinguished award on him by President Muhammadu Buhari, vowed to resign from office if anyone could prove he promised to make him the next governor of Rivers State.

However, at Tuesday evening’s event, he told the gathering that if he fails to complete any of the projects, Siminialaye would finish them to ensure continuity in the state.

Wike said: “I will not leave any project unfinished. I will make sure all the projects we have started are finished. If they are not finished, maybe at 90 or 95 percent completion, when my successor, Siminalaye Fubara and Prof. Ngozi Ordu, come, they should use them for their first one hundred days in office projects and commission them.

“This is because they are part of what we are doing. When I say my successor, you know they will win. You know they will win because our report card is there to show what we have done. We are in the period of operation show your report card.”

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