Rivers Crisis: Fubara Visited Me With Two Governors – Wike
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stated that suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is undertaking reconciliation efforts and has visited him, along with two other governors.
Wike, Rivers State’s immediate past governor, made the statement on Monday in response to news that Fubara, who was suspended earlier this year, had visited the FCT minister.
“The president has repeatedly called for peace, and I cannot sit down and say, ‘I don’t want peace,'” Wike said during a media briefing with select journalists in Abuja.
“Yes, he arrived with two governors and an elderly guy. Unfortunately, both governors are APC members. So I won’t pursue him. He stated that he desires peace. That is OK. “I also want peace.”
The feud between Wike and Fubara sparked a political crisis in Rivers, which lasted months and culminated when President Bola Tinubu suspended Fubara, the Rivers Assembly, and the state’s deputy governor, Ngozi Odu.
Tinubu then nominated a state administrator, whom he tasked with overseeing Rivers operations for six months in a huge political event that divided Nigerians.
Months after his suspension, Wike stated that while Fubara is asking for peace, the suspended governor could take more conciliatory gestures rather than reportedly organising protests against the implementation of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
“I told him, ‘Look, I don’t believe you have the ability to truly make this peace.'” That’s why I felt so horrible about what I read yesterday. Why? If you want to make peace, your people should be demonstrating positively every day, not attacking others on television. “How do you feel in that situation?”
“You must take action. Have you met the assembly members? There are leaders you should meet. It is not to say, ‘I want peace.’ “You must demonstrate it through your behaviour and actions,” the former governor stated.
Wike stated that certain governors mislead Fubara before the issue escalated.
“Governors pushed him; where are they now?” “I believe the governors are serving their interests,” the former governor stated.
“Fubara’s a young man. I cautioned him, “Look, go this way, and you will not have problems.”