The General Overseer of Salvation Ministries, the Port Harcourt-based church, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, has described the ongoing political crisis between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a battle rooted in the spiritual realm.
He insisted that human intervention alone cannot bring the dispute to an end, stressing that only divine intervention can resolve the prolonged standoff.
Speaking during a church service in a video clip that has since gained widespread circulation online, Ibiyeomie traced a historical pattern of political conflicts in Rivers State. He recounted how successive leaders fell out with their political benefactors, beginning from Rufus Ada George and his deputy, Peter Odili, through Odili and his protégé, Chibuike Amaechi, to Amaechi and his successor, Wike, and now the rift between Wike and Fubara.
The cleric further warned that the cycle would likely continue even after Fubara’s tenure, should he anoint a successor.
According to him: “Because if God speaks to me, I will say it. No mortal man, I repeat, can solve the problem of Rivers State. No mortal man. It’s not a physical problem.
“Has the President been able to solve it? No. I will give you a story so you can understand. I’m a man of God. Ada George was a governor and Peter Odili was under him. Odili fought him.
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“Amaechi was Odili’s boy; Amaechi fought him. Wike was Amaechi’s boy; Wike fought him. Sim was the boy to Wike and they are fighting. It can never be solved by any physical man, except by the hand of God.
“This is because it’s not a physical problem. Even if Sim picks somebody today, the person will fight him. It’s a spiritual problem. They have tried all means, even the President, and have not been able to solve the problem.”
His remarks have since sparked widespread reactions, with many interpreting them as a spiritual perspective on the persistent political rivalries that have shaped Rivers State’s leadership history.