Edison Ehie, Chief of Staff to suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has firmly denied involvement in the October 2023 burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex. Speaking during a recent Channels Television interview, Ehie addressed accusations made by former Rivers State Head of Service George Nwaeke.
“I need to be absolutely clear about this—I had no involvement whatsoever in the burning of the Rivers State Assembly,” Ehie stated during the Sunday Politics program. “Like everyone else in Rivers State, I woke up early on October 30th, 2023, to news that the Assembly complex had been burned.”
In response to Nwaeke’s allegations linking both him and Governor Fubara to the incident, Ehie revealed he has instructed his legal team to file criminal libel charges against the former Head of Service.
“I won’t engage in a public dispute with Mr. Nwaeke as I’ve already directed my lawyers to initiate criminal libel proceedings against him,” Ehie explained. “He’ll need to substantiate these serious claims in court.”
Ehie shifted focus to Assembly Speaker Martins Amaewhule, suggesting investigators should question him regarding the fire. According to Ehie, the blaze reportedly began shortly after security personnel permitted the Speaker’s convoy to enter the complex.
The Chief of Staff characterized Nwaeke as financially motivated, claiming the former Head of Service has aligned himself with political adversaries “to satisfy his hunger for emergency riches.” Ehie referenced public concerns raised by Nwaeke’s wife about her husband’s unexplained disappearance, describing it as evidence of a man who “betrayed his conscience” and family “to own the world.”
During the interview, Ehie displayed WhatsApp messages allegedly showing Nwaeke requesting financial assistance shortly after resigning from his position last week. “George is not a contented man,” Ehie remarked, suggesting Nwaeke isn’t speaking from “his right frame of mind.”
Ehie also dismissed claims about Nwaeke’s supposed influence in Rivers State governance and challenged assertions about a close relationship between Nwaeke and Governor Fubara. He stated the former Head of Service never had private meetings with the suspended governor.
“Nwaeke isn’t even on the protocol list of officials with uninterrupted access to the governor,” Ehie explained. “The Government House records and DSS security clearance logs that I supervise confirm this. I challenge him to provide evidence of any unscheduled visit to the governor since October 29, 2023. There simply isn’t any.”
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