Ijaw Group Urges Wike to Make Peace With Fubara

By Bliss Okperan

The Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, has been advised to extend an olive branch to the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminialayi Fubara.

The Minister, who handed over the reins of Rivers State to Mr Fubara, has been at loggerheads with his successor.

A few weeks ago, some lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Mr Wike attempted to impeach the Governor, but President Bola Tinubu quickly intervened and doused the tension.

However, all is still not well with both parties, with the Minister granting an interview last week to accuse his ‘political son’ of burning down the parliament.

Another stakeholder intervening in the matter is the Ijaw National Congress, which urged Mr Wike to allow peace to reign.

The president of the group, Mr Benjamin Okaba, in a statement in Akure, Ondo State, on Sunday, called on the political gladiators to maintain peace.

“We urgently call on all political players in Rivers State to play their duty to their constituents and forthwith cease from any further acts capable of slurring the sanctity of the office, institution and person of the Governor of all Rivers people.

“On our part, the Ijaw National Congress worldwide, at all levels and organs across Ijawland and the diaspora should be alive to the sacred responsibility of watching over and protecting the interests of our people anywhere and anytime.

“We specifically appeal to Chief Nyesom Wike, to retrace his steps from stoking division of any sort against the government of the day under the guise of protecting his ‘structure’. The political structure to which he refers should not be rolled up with the structure of the government of Governor Fubara as one entity under anyone’s thumb,” the group stated.

The association commended the people of Rivers State for standing against the purported planned impeachment of Mr Fubara, expressing its displeasure about the political crisis in the state, adding that it would always stand on the side of the truth and good governance.

The INC called on the people of the state to remain vigilant, steadfast and continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to maintain peace and in Rivers State and the Niger Delta as a whole.