Rivers Crisis: Why Rivers Elders Are Against Me – Wike

Rivers Crisis: Why Rivers Elders Are Against Me – Wike

The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has criticized certain elders in Rivers State for rejecting the outcome of President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the ongoing dispute between him and Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The conflict between Mr. Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, and his successor, Mr. Fubara, over political control in the oil-rich state, has led to a split in the state legislature, with lawmakers divided into two factions.

President Tinubu, seeking to mediate in the crisis about a week ago, held a second meeting at the Presidential Villa with Messrs Fubara and Wike, along with other leaders from the state.

The meeting resulted in the signing of an 8-point peace deal, which the Rivers Elders Forum rejected, labeling the terms as “one-sided” and favoring Mr. Wike, thereby constituting a violation of the Nigerian Constitution.

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The group, while acknowledging its request for Mr. Tinubu’s intervention, expressed uncertainty about whether the intervention has resolved or exacerbated the crisis. It specifically criticized the terms of Mr. Tinubu’s peace deal as violating Nigeria’s constitution.

Why Rivers Elders are against me

Addressing the audience in Port Harcourt during a Thanksgiving service and marriage anniversary celebration for Des George-Kelly, an ally who recently stepped down as the works commissioner in Mr. Fubara’s cabinet, Mr. Wike cautioned the public against “getting involved in any conflict between two politicians without understanding the root cause.”

Mr. Wike criticized the elders of Rivers for asserting that President Tinubu lacks the constitutional authority to issue the directives outlined in the peace deal.

“In any facet of life, there are rules and they must be obeyed. As a pastor, there are rules you must follow. So as politicians, we must follow rules.

“While I was governor I followed those rules, and that’s why I was able to succeed.

“When I was running for governor in 2014/2015, I was invited that some elders wanted to see me. When I got there, I saw only two people. Just two of them constituted themselves as elders over the whole state.

“They said elders of the state have decided that I should not contest the election. I said it must be a joke. Now they’ve come back again as elders.

“Check everyone there, some of them their sons lost the election. Everybody wants to take their pound of flesh. ‘Wike prevented me from this. Wike made me not to be that. Wike made me not to be that.’ Even those that Wike made have joined them.”

He criticised the elders for rejecting the outcome of the president’s intervention it solicited.

“You are the ones who said the President should intervene. Now the President has come to bring peace, you said no, you don’t have the constitutional powers.

“All of us must love this state but don’t listen to propaganda. There is nothing I’m looking for in this state now. I have my own budget as FCT Minister. I have my own commissioners.

“All I’m saying is if you are a politician play according to the rules,” Mr Wike said, a statement that suggests his successor must have reneged on an undisclosed agreement entered into before the election.

Crisis

Since late October, Rivers State has been in the grip of a political crisis, triggered when lawmakers loyal to Mr. Wike attempted to impeach Mr. Fubara. The situation escalated to the bombing of a section of the assembly complex.

The crisis took a new twist when 27 pro-Wike lawmakers defected to the APC. In response, Mr. Fubara-backed lawmakers, led by Edison Ehie, declared their seats vacant with the backing of a court order to continue legislative activities without interference.

President Tinubu intervened to resolve the political crisis, inviting both factions to Abuja where they signed an 8-point peace deal. As part of the deal, President Tinubu directed the defected lawmakers, whose seats were declared vacant, to return to the assembly with their rights and privileges restored. However, various groups, including the Rivers Elders Forum, argued that this directive violated the country’s constitution, which mandates their return through a fresh election.

Additional directives included Mr. Fubara withdrawing all court cases related to the crisis, and the pro-Wike lawmakers dropping the impeachment proceedings. Regarding the N800 billion 2024 budget passed by the assembly, Governor Fubara was instructed to resubmit the budget to the assembly. Furthermore, he was required to submit the names of nine allies of Wike, who had resigned as commissioners, for approval and reappointment by the assembly.

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