Headline
Rivers Crisis: ‘Obey Court Judgement And There Will Be Peace,’ Wike Tells Fubara
…Accuses Fubara Of Sponsoring APP In Rivers LG Polls
…Insists He Has No Regret Working Against PDP In 2023 Presidential Poll
A former governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike has asked his successor Siminalayi Fubara to follow the rule of law for peace to reign in the state.
Wike spoke on Tuesday when he was featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“There is peace when you obey the rule of law. There is peace when you obey court judgements,” the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said.
Wike’s comment came in the wake of the crisis in Rivers State.
The state has made headlines in recent months owing to a feud between Wike and Fubara. That dispute escalated some days back in the lead-up and aftermath of the local government elections in the state.
A court verdict had mandated the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) not to provide security for the election. It also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to release the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the exercise.
But the Fubara-led government insisted on the local government election and conducted same on Saturday.
The chairpersons and councillors were sworn in on Monday but that triggered another wave of violence in the state. Three local government council secretariats were set ablaze and properties were destroyed.
Fubara has since vowed to fish out the masterminds of the attacks and on Tuesday set up a panel to probe the incidents.
However, Wike said, insisted that Fubara should follow the court verdict to bring peace to the state.
“Obey court judgement, and allow the rule of law to prevail. If you don’t obey the law, you are bringing anarchy,” he said.
“I was a governor, I have always obeyed the rule of law. You heard the governor say that our state is turning into a state of anarchy where people do not obey the rule of law.
“You must obey the judgement of the court. You must not take the law into your own hands. The moment you don’t obey court judgement, you are inviting anarchy, you are inviting violence,” Wike said.
While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is Fubara and Wike’s party did not participate in the election, the Action Peoples Party (APP) clinched 22 out of the 23 chairmanship positions.
Wike, however, believes Fubara sponsored the APP.
“Today, people say ‘Discipline Wike, he did anti-party’. I did not do anti-party; I said we must stand for equity, fairness, and justice’,” he said while referencing his support of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.
“Today, what happened? The governor [Fubara] is the one who sponsored the APP. The chairman of the [PDP] governors’ forum was the one who attended the swearing-in”.
Meanwhile, Wike, also said he has no regret working against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election.
Wike, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, denied engaging in anti-party activities by refusing to support Atiku Abubakar, the then PDP presidential candidate.
He defended his decision, saying it was taken for the sake of justice and fairness.
“For presidential election, I said I am going to support equity, fairness and justice. In the other one, I am going to support my party and that is why we won the governor, National Assembly election,” Wike said.
“For presidential, I have no apologies because I don’t believe in injustice. Today people say ‘discipline Wike, he did anti-party.’ I did not do anti-party,” Wike said.
In the build up the 2023 general elections, Wike, then governor of Rivers State, joined forces with four other aggrieved PDP governors, including Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) against Atiku’s ambition.
The five governors had been consistent in their demand that Senator Iyorchia Ayu step down as PDP national chairman as a precondition for them to support the presidential ambition of the party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku later lost the presidential election to the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, under whose government he is serving as minister.
Oshiomhole, a former Edo State governor, further emphasised that borrowing for capital projects such as infrastructure is a healthy global practice.
According to him, every past president from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) had at one point approached the international community for loans and aid.
He made the clarification when he was featured as a guest on Sunday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
His concerns come barely one month after the President sought the National Assembly’s approval to secure external loans of $21.5 million and ¥15 billion, along with a grant of €65 million, as part of his government’s proposed 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on May 27.
The letter also included a summary of the funding breakdown, but the content was not made public.
Oshiomhole, however, insisted that there was nothing wrong with the National Assembly approving such loans since every country needs them for developmental projects.
He said, “Once the purpose of borrowing is clear and acceptable, it is patriotic to approve of it. Because this is not the first president to borrow. I would challenge you to name any Nigerian president, from Olusegun Obasanjo to Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, though I’m not too sure about that because he didn’t live enough.
“But Jonathan and Buhari did borrow. Even America is borrowing. The current bill in the United States is going to push US deficit to about31 to $36trn.
“You name the country that doesn’t borrow. For me, borrowing for the right purpose like infrastructure is very healthy.”
In a statement, Onanuga said the President renewed his order in the wake of the latest round of reprisal attacks that led to the death of many people.
Governor Hyacinth Alia on Sunday confirmed the killing of 59 persons at Yelewata, where suspected herdsmen from Nasarawa State attacked the border town.
Addressing journalists at the Government House, Alia said the figures are based on physical headcounts by security agencies working with families of those killed.
In his reaction, Tinubu charged the governor with convening reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.
“On the president’s directive, intelligence chiefs, the police and the military have arrived in the state to direct security operations and restore sanity,” Onanuga said.
Describing the killings and bloodletting as inhuman and anti-progress, Tinubu called on political leaders and community leaders in conflict areas to stop fuelling the crisis through unguarded utterances and statements that could further inflame tensions.
“The latest news of wanton killings in Benue State is very depressing. We must not allow this bloodletting to continue unabated. Enough is now enough.
“I have directed the security agencies to act decisively and arrest perpetrators of these evil acts on all sides of the conflict and prosecute them.
“Political and community leaders in Benue State must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions and killings.
“This is the time for Governor Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue. Our people must live in peace, and it is possible when leaders across the divides work together in harmony and differences are identified and addressed with fairness, openness and justice,” the President was quoted as saying.
Addressing journalists at the Government House, Alia said the figures are based on physical headcounts by security agencies working with families of those killed.
Among those killed were military and civil defence personnel who fought to defend Yelewata against the attacks.
Governor Alia also gave some credit to his Nasarawa State counterpart, Abdullahi Sule, who shared some intelligence on the killings which also left one woman dead on the Nasarawa axis.
The governor gave the details when he received a report from the panel of inquiry on the militia activities in the Sankera axis and pledged to commit to the appropriate authority and investigate the persons indicated in the report to ensure peace returned to Sankera.
Pope Leo XIV has since condemned the recent killings in Benue, describing the incident as a “terrible massacre” in which mostly displaced civilians were murdered with “extreme cruelty”.
Delivering his remarks before the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican, the pontiff expressed deep concern over the ongoing violence in Nigeria and the suffering of affected communities.
The Pope prayed for “security, justice, and peace” to prevail in the country and offered special intercession for the rural Christian communities in Benue, whom he described as “relentless victims of violence.”
The attack occurred in Yelwata, a border town between Benue and Nasarawa states, where suspected herdsmen reportedly stormed the community late Friday night.
Angry youths on Sunday stormed the Wurukum food basket roundabout to protest the killing. The protesters converged on the Wurukum food basket roundabout in Makurdi as early as 8 am to demand action over the alleged killing on Saturday in Yelwata.
They were later joined by a social media influencer, Martin Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan.
In a statement, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said President Bola Tinubu has directed security chiefs to implement his earlier directive to bring lasting peace and security to Benue State.
He said on the president’s directive, intelligence chiefs, the police and the military have arrived in the state to direct security operations and restore sanity.
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