Rivers crisis: I was in coma when Fubara removed me – Traditional ruler

Eze Ohna Sergeant Chidi Awuse, a leading traditional ruler in Rivers State, has expressed disappointment in the state governor, Siminialayi Fubara for removing him as chairman of the Traditional Rulers’ Council when he was critically ill.

the monarch, who was appointed by the former governor, Nyesom Wike was removed from his position as Chairman of the Rivers Traditional Rulers Council by Fubara on June 21, 2024.

The governor, who accused Awuse of being unstable in his leadership of the council under the current administration, replaced him with the Paramount Ruler of Apara Kingdom, Eze Chike Worlu Wodo.

Eze Awuse’s removal followed the face-off between Governor Fubara and Wike who is presently the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, over the leadership structure in the state.

Speaking at the weekend when Wike led a delegation of his political associates to his palace to rejoice with him for surviving a debilitating ailment, the monarch lamented that he was in a critical condition at hospital when his removal was announced.

The monarch claimed that he was in an Intensive Care Unit, ICU, when the governor removed him, stressing that he spent ten hours in a coma and six days on ICU.

He said, “I was sacked from my seat the day I was in ICU. I was in a coma for 10 hours. I told him only (Wike) because everybody rejected me.

“The government I was serving rejected me.

“I am learning how to stand up because I was in ICU for six weeks with gadgets all over my body fed through my nose. And you (Fubara) told people when I was in ICU that I was a man of questionable character.

“You said Sergeant Awuse, I am not steady. That is one quality I don’t deserve. Call me any other name but I am a steady human being.”