Rivers: How Wike, Fubara Meeting Set Stage For Peace Deal

The meetings came in quick succession. And in utter secrecy apparently to shield the gladiators from undue public pressure.

By the time it was all over early yesterday, they were all smiles, pumping hands. The stage seemed set for a return to normalcy in Rivers State politics.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, suspended members of the state House of Assembly and key stakeholders in the state resolved to end all hostilities and work together as before.

The deal was sealed at a separate meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

Previous efforts at reconciliation had not fared well.

But Wike and Fubara told newsmen as they emerged from the meeting with Tinubu that it was for real this time.

Wike, backed by 27 of the state legislators, had been locked in a bitter feud with the governor.

Their disagreement soon degenerated into threats to public peace, culminating in the imposition of a six-month state of emergency in the state by the President on March 15.

“We have all agreed to work together with the governor, and the governor also agreed to work together with all of us.

“We are members of the same political family,” Wike said.

Both sides, according to him, have buried the hatchet and committed to working together going forward.

He acknowledged that while disagreements are a natural part of human relations, reconciliation is also part of the process, and that has now been accomplished.

“Yes, just like humans, you have a disagreement and then you also have a time to settle your disagreement.

“That has been finally concluded today.

“We have come to report to Mr. President that this is what we have agreed.

“So, for me, everything is over,” the FCT Minister said.

He asked political actors in Rivers to align with the renewed spirit of unity and cooperation.

He said: “I enjoin everybody who believes to work with us, to also work together with everybody.

“There’s no more acrimony. There’s nothing to say.”

The governor spoke along the same line.

His words: “For me, it’s a day we have to thank Almighty God.

“What we need for the progress of Rivers State is peace, and by the special grace of God, this night, with the help of Mr President and the agreement of the leaders of the state, our leader, peace has returned in Rivers State.

“We’ll do everything within our power to make sure that we sustain it this time around.”

He described the resolution as a divine intervention.

He promised to do everything within his power to sustain the peace achieved.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on his verified X handle @aonanuga1956 yesterday, said President Tinubu convened a high-level peace meeting at the State House in Abuja, bringing together key actors in the conflict for a rare face-to-face dialogue.

Onanuga said the meeting was called to end the political hostilities that have gripped Rivers State for months and to “restore normalcy and order.”

Details of the agreements reached at the State House meeting were not disclosed.

However, sources said the terms of the agreement reached by the parties include limitation of the governor to one term only, withdrawal of all threats of impeachment by the assembly against the governor and discontinuation of all court cases by everyone.

It was gathered that Fubara, with the assistance of Wike, first met with the suspended state legislators led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule in Abuja.

At the meeting, Fubara reportedly apologised profusely to the suspended speaker and other lawmakers and appealed to them to forgive him.

He said the errors committed in the past would not arise again.

He then proceeded to shake hands with all of them.

An enlarged meeting attended by elders, such as OCJ Okocha, Chief Ferdinand Alabrara, King Sergeant Awuse and members of the National Assembly caucus of Rivers, followed.

During the meeting, Wike was said to have asked political leaders from his side to stop public criticism of Fubara.

“Chief Wike said henceforth, nobody should grant interviews to criticise Fubara and that everybody should give the new-found peace a chance. He told them that the peace agreement was designed to favour everybody,” a source told The Nation.

From the second meeting, Wike, Fubara and some principal officers of the House of Assembly moved to the State House to brief the President on their agreement and resolve to work together.

Sources said Fubara agreed not to seek a second term in office.

He pledged to pay all the withheld salaries and allowances of the lawmakers.

He was also said to have agreed to allow his political father, Wike, to nominate all the 23 local government chairmen in the forthcoming councils’ poll.

He said President Tinubu did not impose any decision on them but merely accepted the agreements and faulted claims that it was the President that drafted the agreement.

Senator George Sekibo, Kingsley Chinda, Senator Magnus Abe and Chief Victor Giadom were among those who witnessed the meeting.

This is how to lead, PDP chief hails Tinubu

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ogun State, Segun Showunmi, was all praise for the President for helping to resolve the Rivers State crisis.

Showunmi, spokesman for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 presidential election, said on his verified X handle @SegunShowunmi: “This is how to lead! A leader must resolve issues, not make them worse.

“There is nothing wrong with studying Asiwaju @officialABAT. After all, we study leaders in other climes. It is a weakness and colonial mentality to think that one of our own cannot be learned.

“Mr. President, you do this one. Thank you Gov @SimFubaraKSC thank you, Min @GovWike, thank you Speaker and his colleagues. Thank you reasonable elders who encouraged this.

“This has always been my position. The journey from home is the same distance as the journey away from home. Team Rivers is Back. Now let’s celebrate. Never again!!!!”

A Rivers State activist, Oby Ndukwe, said: “The biggest story this week is the return of Siminalayi Fubara to his political family and the return of peace to Rivers State.

“This is a time for healing, not a time to cast aspersions on Fubara or Wike.

“Meanwhile, those on the side of the governor, who may not be comfortable with this renewed alignment, can align with the opposition coalition group. It’s all politics and power play.”

Fubara had visited President Tinubu in Lagos during the last Eid el Kabir holidays.

He had also visited Wike in Abuja.

Credit: The Nation