*We expected him to fight on and not succumb to intimidation, Ann-Kio Briggs says
Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended Governor of Rivers, has stated that no sacrifice is too big to ensure peace, stability, and progress in the state.
Last Thursday, Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), attended a late night peace meeting hosted by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Saturday after the meeting, Mr. Lere Olayinka, Wike’s spokesperson, shared in an X post that his boss and Fubara were in Port Harcourt, for the burial of the FCT Minister’s uncle.
Speaking to his supporters some hours later, Fubara reassured them that his recent reconciliation with Wike was made in the collective interest of Rivers people.
Acknowledging the disappointment and anxiety among some loyalists over the peace deal, Fubara said “difficult times require the taking of difficult decisions”.
The suspended governor admitted that the new political realities may be hard to accept, especially for those who have stood by him through the crisis, but that the ultimate goal is to restore peace and stability in the state.
“We have fought. I think, in my own assessment and in the assessment of anyone here who is genuine in this struggle, you will know that we have done what we needed to do.
“At this point, if you want to be truthful to yourself, the only solution is peace. I did say that there’s no price that is too big for peace — I meant it, and I’m still ready to follow it to the end.
“Nobody can take away the role the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, played — that’s the truth. Yes, we might have our differences, but nobody here will say he doesn’t know the role he played.
“Nobody can wish away the risks he took. Yes, at a point we had our differences and if today there’s need for us to settle, please, anyone who genuinely believes in me should understand that it’s the right thing to do.
“So, my dear fathers, brothers and sisters, no matter the level of peace that a mediator will arrange, the true peace is the one where both of you are sitting down together to say, ‘Yes, this is what we want,” he stated.
Fubara said the political crisis has delayed several development projects across Rivers state but expressed optimism that the reconciliation would accelerate project implementation.
“It’s not even about me as a person — it’s about the overall interest of the state. In the midst of this crisis between me and the FCT Minister, look at the projects we’ve initiated. Many have been abandoned,” he said.
“We know the progress we would have recorded and the areas that would have been developed. So, there’s need for this peace — that’s the truth.
“I can’t abandon you people — that’s one thing I need to say here. This is the time for me to prove to you that I care for you, and I make my commitment here that whichever way it goes, I will not abandon anybody.
“But the sacrifice that we are going to make for us to achieve this total peace is going to be heavy, and I want everybody to prepare for it.”
*Not that way, we expect you to fight on, says Ann-Kio Briggs
However in an interview on Channels television, renowned Niger Delta activist, Ann-Kio Briggs, expressed a slightly different opinion on the resolution. The excerpts:
What’s your take on the situation with the Rivers State Electoral Commission (RSIEC), especially now that Michael Odeh, who is not from Rivers State, has been confirmed by the Senate as chairman. The Senate Leader argues there’s no law stopping a non-indigene from holding the position?
For Rivers people, we believe that we are being taken advantage of. We believe that we’re being pushed to the wall and that somehow, some people sitting somewhere are using the law, using the constitution as and when it pleases them and abusing the constitution as and when it pleases them and expecting some kind of reaction that they can use against the state.
Which state can endure what Rivers people are enduring, whether it is constitutional or not? It’s something that Rivers people, at one time or the other, believe it or not, are going to get tired of and are going to react to.
Now, there is already an acceptance that the state of emergency declared on the 18th of March by Mr President was not only unconstitutional to a very large extent, because you can declare a state of emergency but nowhere does it say that you can suspend the Governor, the Deputy Governor, and the State House of Assembly members.
The man who was brought in, Ibas, is not a Rivers man and he was not elected by the Rivers people. This is unconstitutional. Now, he came in and he unconstitutionally removed people that the governor placed in constitutionally recognised positions. He removed them. He then went further to create Sole Administrators for local governments. What is his business? Why is the government insisting that he must conduct an election? Why is the government insisting that this Sole Administrator must conduct the local government election?
Let us assume that this election is going to take place, and people are going to be elected, and the Governor is going to come back. When the Governor comes back, is he going to work with people he doesn’t know?
Every single time something has happened, there are people in court. Yet, we have a government that refuses to acknowledge or respect the rights of the people of Rivers State to be heard in court.
The judiciary itself, which is supposed to checkmate the other arms of government, is now part of the government that it is supposed to checkmate. Therefore, it has thrown Rivers people under the bus. The federal government, the Senate, and the FCT Minister, have conspired against the rights and the people of Rivers State.
But how long are we going to be able to contain the anger that is brewing, the frustration that is brewing? Rivers people have been thrown under the bus.
The reason for the declaration of a state of emergency, as I have said all along, never existed. The President was deceived; he was lied to. And as long as he continues to act on what he is being told without hearing the people of Rivers State, then the people of Rivers State are victims of the presidency and private individuals.
The president’s decision to suspend elected officials under the state of emergency is now a constitutional matter before the Supreme Court. Has this state of emergency brought any real solution to Rivers State?
It should never have been declared. The state of emergency has actually become the problem. We were told it was declared because the President believed it was in the best interest of Rivers State. Now, we Rivers people are saying to the President: it is not in our best interest.
Look, the man who has been confirmed as the chairman of RSIEC—it’s constitutional and democratic that only the Governor, by law, is supposed to appoint this chairman, and not less than five or more than seven other members. It is the Governor’s duty. Ibas is not the Governor of Rivers State. So that alone is something that is wrong and unacceptable to Rivers people.
We all know how the President today (Bola Tinubu) fought the then President Olusegun Obasanjo when he attempted to do something similar in Lagos State. Now, we have a Cross River man, Ibas, who is not an elected official, overseeing our money and our lives. I don’t know if we’ve been sold to Cross River by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
We now have someone telling us what to do, someone we didn’t elect. We now have a man who is going to oversee an election we don’t believe in. I, for one, will never believe in the results of an election conducted by him in August. It’s plain as black and white that this is a well-thought-out, well-strategised situation being imposed on the elected Governor of Rivers State.
To the extent that this continues, and the Governor himself is now either tied down for whatever reason or has accepted whatever is going to be done. That cannot be in the interest of Rivers people. It is also not in the interest of the Governor we elected. We expect him to fight for us. Right now, we feel that he is not.
Some say Gov. Fubara isn’t doing enough to reclaim his seat, while others believe he’s choosing the path of peace. With the court yet to decide the legality of appointing a Sole Administrator and removing elected officials, is there any sign that a local government election is being planned in Rivers State?
The Governor is peaceful and quiet, yes. But the Governor also has to fight for the people of Rivers State. And we’re calling on the government of Rivers State to explain further to us. We need an explanation. We don’t have an understanding of why these illegalities are going on, and it is being allowed to go on by the courts, and by the federal government.
