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| Wike and Fubara when the going was good |
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Governor of Rivers State, has shed light on a recent meeting with the suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
The visit, which took place at Wike’s residence, saw Fubara accompanied by two governors from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and an elder statesman, signaling an attempt at reconciliation amid their prolonged political feud.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Wike confirmed that Fubara came seeking peace, but he was cautious about the sincerity of the gesture, pointing out that the accompanying governors were from the opposition party.
“I told him I don’t think you really have the capacity to make this peace,” he said.
According to the minister, Fubara cannot be suing for peace while his lieutenants are busy all over television stations abusing others.
He said the suspended governor, apart from meeting him, must take steps to meet other stakeholders like the State Assembly, the party and other stakeholders for peace to reign.
The rift between Wike and Fubara started shortly after latter assumed office as Governor of Rivers State.
The crisis reached a crescendo in March when President Bola Tinubu suspended Fubara, the deputy governor, Ngozi Odu and the Rivers Assembly.
Following their suspension, the president appointed a state administrator whom he saddled with the responsibility of running Rivers affairs for six months.
Meanwhile, Fubara has been suing for peace but Wike said the suspended governor needs to take more reconciliatory steps rather than allegedly organising protests against the president’s declaration of a state of emergency rule in Rivers State.
“I told him, ‘Look, I don’t think you have the capacity to really make this peace.’ That’s why when I read what I read yesterday, I felt so bad.
“Why? If you are making peace, your people are demonstrating every day; if you are making peace, your people are busy on television insulting people. How do you feel in that case?”
“You must take steps. Have you met the assembly people? There are leaders you should meet. It is not to say, ‘I want peace.’ You must show it by conduct and action,” Wike said.
According to Wike, Fubara was deceived by some governors before the crisis escalated.
“Governors came pushing him, where are they now? I think the governors are enjoying their own,” the former governor stated.
“When this thing started, I called him. Seyi Makinde was there, Ortom was there, Ikpeazu was there, Ugwuanyi was there; we were scouting.
“We sat him down and said this thing is not good for you. God has given you this thing, why not be humble and not allow people to push you?
“They are telling you to act like a governor. We know. Nobody is taking it away; you are a governor. But all I am saying is don’t abandon people who have laboured for you day and night,” Wike recalled.
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