…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.