By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Former governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, has revealed that he met with Siminalayi Fubara, his successor who he has been at loggerheads with after President Bola Tinubu called him.
Wike, who is now the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT revealed this in an interview with the BBC while speaking on his feud with Fubara who is now on suspension as the governor of Rivers State.
The president called me and asked us to make peace,” Wike said.
“I asked him (President Tinubu), ‘How can you say I should make peace and I won’t make peace?’”
Consequently, the FCT Minister said he met Fubara in company of two governors in the bid to resolve the Rivers crisis.
“He (Fubara) came with some governors to meet me,” the FCT Minister said.
He added that he welcomed Fubara during the visit and reiterated his commitment to peace in Rivers.
The Minister said his meeting with Fubara indicated that he is open to peace
“If I don’t want peace, I won’t allow him to come to my place. We even spoke on the phone just the other day,” he said.
According to Wike, he told Governor Fubara that the decision to embrace genuine reconciliation lies solely with him.
“I told him that the yam and the knife are in his hands, so he knows where best to cut. If you want genuine peace, you can have it. If you want us to pretend, we can,” Wike stated.
Wike, however, said he has no problem with Fubara who he described as his political son, but with those ‘who want to steal what they did not work for’.
“That one is not a battle. He (Fubara) is my boy, he is my son. Why will I fight with him?” Wike said.
“I’m only fighting against people who want to steal what they did not work for. People like Celestine Omehia, Abiye Sekibo, and Austin Okpara, they want to hijack… I have defeated them before, and I will give them the final defeat.”
“When you don’t defeat them, defeat them to the final stage,” he added.
“Now, they are ashamed because they are being defeated. They are the ones pushing Fubara.”
President Bola Tinubu had in March declared declared a state of emergency in Rivers citing political instability and troubling security in the state.
The President said security reports revealed pipeline vandalism by militants, with no intervention from the state government.
He has directed security agencies to protect lives, infrastructure, and especially oil pipelines throughout Rivers.
The President also appointed Vice-Adm. Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to oversee Rivers’ affairs during the emergency.
However, the declaration of the state of emergency has come under criticisms of some stakeholders and groups in and outside of Rivers State.
For one, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) described the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers as a “dangerous precedent” for Nigeria democracy.
The CUPP National Secretary, High Chief Peter Ameh, in a statement described it as a “selective application of the state of emergency decree”.
Ameh said that by suspending Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and appointing a sole administrator, President Bola Tinubu had flagrantly disregarded the Constitution and undermined the principles of democracy.
