Rivers ex-commissioner threatens legal action against govt blackmailers

A former Commissioner of Urban Development and Physical Planning in Rivers State, Dr. Reason Onya, has threatened to take legal action against those allegedly spreading false information and blackmailing the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie.

Onya issued the threat in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday, while reacting to recent allegations that Edison is part of a PRO Democratic group sponsoring the looming national wide protest scheduled to hold on 29 July, 2024.

Onya, who is also a Senior Lecturer at the Rivers state University, claimed that the perpetrators aim to de-market the chief of staff and Rivers state government before the federal government of Nigeria, in order to justify their call for a state of emergency in the state.

“He said, “The accusations are not pleasant on my own part, nor on my people, because there has been a consistent approach to him, again and again.

“They have been applying the concept of escapism theory trying to ensure that Ehie is always blackmailed. In a nutshell they have perpetually come up with anti-Semitism on Ehie and the Governor of Rivers state Siminalayi Fubara, to project them as a scapegoat to the authorities they are answerable to.

“Ensuring they are being blackmailed in a way the public and the federal government of Nigeria sees Edison Ehie and Governor of Rivers state as not being the good people they portray themselves to be.

“They want to make sure the federal government is totally against them and that is why at a given period these same people talked about State of emergency in Rivers State, at a certain period they go into one act or the other just to ensure the good Governor of Rivers State and Ehie is been dragged into the mud.”

He, however, called on President Bola Tinubu and well meaning Nigerians to disregard what he described as concocted lies leveled against Edison Ehie and the good Government of Rivers state.

“I know the President is a democrat who has gone beyond all these antics. I strongly believe that he would not acknowledge any of these approaches being applied by these actors to deprive Rivers state from getting its benefits.

“Edison would not have said they should go and protest against Tinubu, Edison being said to be holding a meeting with a PRO-Democratic group, means the Rivers State Government is sponsoring him to do that. What is the formation derived from that.

“You see the whole thing is channeled towards declaring Rivers state as a state of emergency.

“The good people of Rivers state should not listen to that and I believe also the generality of Nigeria will not buy into their mischievous act of blackmail approaches,” Onya said.