Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has alleged that he was offered ₦5 billion to support an attempt to remove the governor from office.
Ehie, who previously served as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, claims he has solid evidence of the bribe offer.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV, Ehie said he refused the money, citing Fubara’s dedication to peaceful governance.
“The governor is a man of peace. The governor decided to follow the way of conflict resolution. In October, I was approached with N5 billion bribe against the governor, but I refused. The bribe was for impeachment, but I turned it down,” he stated.
He also addressed accusations made by former Rivers State Head of Service, George Nwaeke, who alleged that Ehie was involved in the bombing of the State Assembly complex.
Edison Ehie dismissed the claim, insisting that Nwaeke had been financially influenced to make such allegations.
“It’s very important to clarify that I was not, had no hand in the burning down of the Rivers State House of Assembly,” he stated.
“I have no hand, not privy, no information. We just woke up and heard that the Assembly had been bombed. We had finished screening commissioners and left the complex. We didn’t adjourn to October 30, 2023, when we finished sitting. October 29 was a Sunday.”
According to Ehie, security officials investigating the incident had linked the Speaker’s convoy to the Assembly that evening.
“The security operatives during the investigation said they saw the convoy of the Speaker coming out of the Assembly. Once it is 6 pm, it is only one person that has access to the complex, and that is the Speaker,” he added.
Ehie also accused Nwaeke of requesting financial assistance from Governor Fubara just a day after resigning.
“George Nwaeke resigned on March 24, 2025. By Tuesday, March 25, 2025, he was appealing that the governor should give him money, that he doesn’t have a better house and other helps.
“The problem is that of contentment. He is not a contented man. He was requesting for money,” Ehie said.
He explained that the governor refused the request since Nwaeke had already stepped down, stating, “The governor wouldn’t have given him money at that time because he had already tendered his resignation letter, stating that he cannot work with a government that is not led by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.”
“On claims that Fubara failed to rebuild the Assembly complex after the attack, Ehie clarified that reconstruction was almost complete,” he said.
KanyiDaily recalls that Siminalayi Fubara had dismissed allegations made by George Nweke, calling them false and politically motivated.