‘It’s Well Documented That Ada George Introduced, Funded Bush Boys To Kill People In Rivers’ – Wike’s Aide

The Senior Special Assistant to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, has sharply criticized former Rivers State Governor, Rufus Ada George, for his alleged negative influence on the state’s development.

According to Vanguard, Olayinka, in a statement issued on Thursday, challenged Ada George to provide any substantial positive contributions to Rivers State, aside from introducing violence, killings, and divisive ethnic politics.

Olayinka expressed disappointment, remarking that “at old age, people should begin to desist from acting shamelessly.”

He emphasized that Ada George’s tenure was marked by the notorious rise of the “Bush Boys” militant group, which he claimed the former governor used for political vengeance, resulting in the deaths and maiming of innocent citizens.

The FCT Minister’s spokesperson further questioned Ada George’s political relationships, asking why, after leaving office in 1993, the former governor distanced himself from Peter Odili, his deputy.

“After leaving office as Governor in 1993, what happened to his relationship with Dr. Peter Odili? Why did he not support Odili for governor in 1999 and 2003?” Olayinka asked.

He went on to point out the political disarray, highlighting Ada George’s involvement with the All Peoples Party (APP), while Odili, his former deputy, was with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Olayinka said, “Records of his involvement in the activities of the Bush Boys are well documented in the report of the 2008 Justice Kayode Eso led Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which heard accusations that he (Ada George) sponsored the Bush Boys in the September 2001 violence.

“Where are the Bush Boys he introduced and funded to kill and maim people in Rivers then?

“As a former Governor of Rivers State, he could not reconcile the warring Okrika factions, reason they didn’t have an Amayanabo until Wike became governor. Rather than ressolve the chieftaincy crisis, Ada George took side and used his Bush Boys militant group against those against his preferred candidate.

“As Rivers State Governor, in 1993, when violence ensued in the Ogoni people’s protest against exploitation by Shell, Ada George took side with his former employer against the Ogoni people.

“That’s the person of Ada George, who was among those who took side with the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara when he threw rule of law to the dogs and was boasting that the State House of Assembly and its members existed only because he wanted them to exist.”

Olayinka also condemned the former governor of Rivers State for the manner at which he ran the House of Assembly of 32 members with just three members.

He further stated, “He never for once told Fubara the truth that it was illegal to run a House of Assembly of 32 members with just three members and that it the height of wickedness to deny fellow indigenes of Rivers State their entitlements, thereby making it difficult for to feed and take care of their wives and children.

“Today, at close to 85 years, the same Ada George, who was urging Fubara on in his regime of lawlessness, is addressing the press and advertising his shamelessly by accusing the FCT Minister of being behind the political crisis in Rivers State, including the imposition of a state of emergency and the appointment of sole administrators in all 23 local government areas.

“One wonders where he kept his position as an elder when members of the State House of Assembly, who are indigenes of Rivers State were deprived of their salary and other entitlements by Fubara.

“Also, did the same Ada George, not say that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a ‘meddlesome interloper who engaged in executive rascality by intervening in the crisis and reaching amicable resolutions that all parties signed?’

“Therefore, Ada George is advised to for once, be circumspect and stop advertising shamelessness at old age.”