Published 1st Apr, 2023

By Tola Owoyele

On March 20, Sim Fubara, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared winner of the governorship election held in Rivers State.

Fubara polled 302,614 votes to defeat his closest rival, Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 95,274 votes.

Born on January 28, 1975, in Opobo Town, Fubara attended Opobo Primary School and Comprehensive Secondary School, Opobo, Rivers State, for his primary and secondary school education.

After this, he studied business education with specialisation in accountancy at Rivers State University. In 2015, Fubara first served as director of finance and accounts at the Rivers State Government House before rising to the level of permanent secretary in 2020.

In December 2020, he was appointed the accountant general of the state under the Nyesom Wike administration.

This appointment led to a controversy.

WANTED BY THE EFCC

In May 2022, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Fubara and four other Rivers State Government officials wanted for suspected N117 billion fraud.

According to a statement released by the commission, Fubara was accused of criminal conspiracy, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds and abuse of office.

“We call on anyone with useful information as to the whereabouts of the Account-General to contact any of the Agency’s offices or the nearest police station or other security agencies,” a portion of the statement signed by Wilson Uwujaren, the commission’s head of media and publicity, read.

ESCAPING EFCC’S ARREST

A month later, the governor-elect allegedly escaped an attempt by the commission’s officials to arrest him.

The arrest attempt was reported to have taken place at the Port Harcourt International Airport as Fubara was returning from Abuja. He had travelled to the capital city to receive his certificate of return after emerging as the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state.

As the operatives moved towards the plane to arrest him, youths, believed to be Fubara’s supporters, allegedly resisted the attempt and attacked them.

During the face-off that left some of the operatives injured, Fubara managed to escape arrest.

Uwujaren, in a statement, would condemn the attack on the operatives.

“Operatives of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, were on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, prevented from arresting one Sim Fubara, a suspect under the watch-list of the Commission, by thugs who breached the security of the Port Harcourt Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State,” the statement read.

“The armed thugs assaulted operatives of the commission who demonstrated commendable restraint under extreme provocation.

“The commission condemns the blatant attempt to obstruct justice, warning that its civility should not be taken for granted.”

Though Fubara never publicly spoke about the commission’s attempt to arrest him for fraud, Zacchaeus Adangor, Rivers State Attorney-General, wrote a protest letter to the commission.

LAW SUITS AFTER PRIMARY

In May 2022, Fubara became the PDP governorship candidate in Rivers after the party in the state conducted its primary election.

He polled 721 votes to defeat aspirants like Kamalu Isaac, George Kelly, Danagogo Tammy and West Morgan.

Unsatisfied with the outcome of the primary, Morgan filed a suit against Fubara, challenging his qualification as a candidate and claiming he was not a card-carrying member of the PDP in the state.

In November 2022, however, a federal high court sitting in Port Harcourt dismissed the suit.

The court threw out the suit for incompetence and lack of jurisdiction.

After he was declared governor-elect, Fubara, in his acceptance speech, said grace was at work. He also said his victory was for the PDP and the state.

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