A foremost Nigeria’s pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO in the USA, has called on the people and residents of Rivers State to reject the President Ahmed Tinubu’s brokered accord-agreement between Governor Siminalayi Fabura, and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
The group observed Tinubu and Wike were bent on enslaving Governor Fabura and the people of Rivers State, adding this portends a bleak political and economic future for the state.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, in Abakaliki, by the Publicity Secretary of NADECO USA, Comrade David Adenakan, the group noted it was regrettable that Tinubu and Wike were unwittingly beating a drumbeat of crisis capable of grounding Rivers and Nigeria in general.
An eight-point peace deal was brokered by President Bola Tinubu and other Rivers stakeholders at a crucial meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the peace resolutions, impeachment moves against Fubara would be stopped, Speaker Martin Amaewhule, the leader of the G27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, would return as speaker while Mr. Edison Ehie will step down. All matters in court would be withdrawn, and the governor will re-submit his N800.3 billion 2024 budget to the whole House. The Ehie four-man House had last Thursday passed the budget less than 24 hours after receiving it from Governor Fubara.
The above resolutions have since been rejected by the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark and other stakeholders of Rivers State and Niger Delta.
According to Clark, “Firstly, I wish to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for heeding the various calls, including our own, to mediate in the on-going crisis rocking Rivers State ‘by calling Barr. Nyesom Wike to order’ so as to restore peace and tranquillity in the State and avert any problem similar to that which occurred in 2013, when Barr. Wike was Minister of State Education.
“However, the terms of settlement as contained in the Communique issued at the end of the reconciliatory meeting is what is baffling, appalling and unacceptable to the people, especially, the Ijaw ethnic nationality. From the terms of settlement, it is obvious that President Tinubu sees his role as a mediator, to once again, show gratitude to the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for “delivering” Rivers State to him during the past Presidential elections, having first of gratified him by making him the Minister of FCT.
“The 8 resolutions reached, are the most unconstitutional, absurd and obnoxious resolutions at settling feuding parties that I have ever witnessed in my life. As a matter of fact, some medias captured it very well when they described it as Directives. And for the fact that such thing was done at the Villa, the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria, is sacrilegious, because any place housing or is a custodian of symbol of authority, ought to be sacred.”
Also, Rivers stakeholders under the auspices or Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum (RELF) have said the resolutions and subsequent directives issued after Monday’s peace parley on the political crisis in Rivers State at the instance of President Bola Tinubu, cannot override subsisting orders of the Court on the issues.
They said, “The directives by Tinubu unilaterally suspended the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by virtue of an attempt to reverse a court order recognizing Rt. Honourable Edison Ehie as the speaker and directing that the remainder of members of the House of Assembly constituted the quorum for legislative business.”
Corroborating, the NADECO’s statement on Wednesday, read in part, “The crisis in Rivers State transcends tribal and ethnic divides. Chants of “Ha Izon, Izon keme Mi? Asawana, Ikwerre Anu Meka, Ekpeye Mikani O, etc” are misguided, as the issue is not about upland versus riverine or Ijaw versus Ikwerre.
“At its core, the conflict revolves around the people of Rivers State uniting against the perceived tyranny of one individual who sees himself as an emperor. This struggle is a battle between good and evil, democracy versus anti-democratic principles, and the pursuit of good governance against political machinations and godfatherism.
“The role of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in resolving this crisis is questionable. Instead of internal resolution, it is perplexing that individuals like Mr. Tinubu and the All
Progressives Congress (APC) are involved in inviting Fubara and Wike to Abuja. Governor Fubara’s willingness to engage with Mr. Tinubu and the APC raises concerns about his independence and the sincerity of the PDP’s internal conflict resolution efforts. Literally,
it is as if Governor Fubara willingly presented his neck on the chopping board for Wike, Tinubu, and the APC to chop off.
“Wike is destroying PDP in Rivers State for the benefit of Tinubu and APC. Tinubu is tutoring Wike on godfatherism and how to bankrupt Rivers State. It is therefore an irony that Fubara goes to Tinubu and the APC to resolve a PDP matter. Both Tinubu and Wike are
fomenting the crisis because they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the outcome.
“The people of Rivers State must stand united against the influence of Wike, Tinubu, and the APC. The proposed agreement should be rejected, as Governor Fubara serves the
people of Rivers State, not the interests of Wike or Tinubu. The resistance against external manipulation and the preservation of the state’s autonomy are paramount.”
It added, “NADECO USA urges all parties involved to prioritize the well-being of the people and the stability of the region.Truth be told, Mr. Wike, the immediate past executive governor of Rivers State wants to replicate what Mr. Bola Tinubu did in Lagos State since the return of democracy in 1999. Mr. Wike is a Tinubu wannabe. Period! During his tenure as the governor of Rivers State, he used the state’s resources to intimidate and bully Rivers people into submission.
“Mr. Tinubu, who is Wike’s mentor was exactly what Wike is trying to duplicate in Rivers State – a Machiavellian operator who has rigged himself to become the President of a very powerful black
nation in the world, while Wike was and is still a belligerent combatant that found his way as a LGA Chairman, Chief of Staff to a governor, double stint minister, of which we must all accept even
grudgingly, that he has successfully turned himself to a political terror in the Nigerian context.
“Tinubu himself was a power-hungry politician with a reputation for destroying democratic values and dehumanizing Lagosians. Wike is exactly the same. If we could recall, Tinubu made kings and
expected returns from them in various people. Similarly, Wike is attempting to make kings, sit on their scrotums, and demand financial returns from them.”
