Rivers Women Slam Wike For Twisting Walkout Narrative, Say, ‘Our Target Was Mrs. Ibas’
The Rivers Professional Women League has condemned the statement issued by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, over the recent walkout staged by Rivers women at a public event in Port Harcourt.
Contrary to Wike’s claims that the walkout was directed at Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the group insists their protest was solely in reaction to the unexpected appearance of Mrs. Theresa Ibas, wife of the Rivers State Sole Administrator.
In a press statement signed by the League’s President, Nimi Fiberisima, Esq., Secretary Jennifer Boms Wolugbom, and Director of Publicity Tambari Menete, the women decried what they described as Wike’s “habitual manipulation of Rivers people’s actions to score political points and blackmail Governor Siminalayi Fubara before President Bola Tinubu.”
“The women’s peaceful walkout was never about Senator Oluremi Tinubu. In fact, we hold the First Lady and her husband, the President, in the highest esteem,” the statement read.
“Our protest was triggered by the improper replacement of the expected dignitary, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Abbas Tajudeen, with Mrs. Theresa Ibas. That sudden switch felt like a calculated slight.”
The group accused Wike of constantly heating up the Rivers political landscape and interfering excessively in state matters, despite his current role as Minister of the FCT.
“Why is it that every time Rivers people react organically to injustice, Wike rushes to twist the narrative into a smear campaign against Governor Fubara? This must stop,” they declared.
They also refuted insinuations that Governor Fubara orchestrated the walkout, stressing that the women acted independently, driven by a sense of dignity and fairness. “Governor Fubara did not direct, suggest or hint at the protest. Rivers women are not pawns,” they affirmed.
Calling for restraint and decorum, the group criticized what they termed Wike’s “obsessive political overreach,” reminding him that political office is temporary and that history will judge all actors according to their deeds.
“Let no one be deceived,” the statement concluded. “We support the Renewed Hope Initiative of the First Lady and appreciate her empowerment programmes. Our walkout was a principled stance, not an insult. Rivers women will not be used to play politics that insults their intelligence.”
