Fight Between Fubara And Predecessor Not Over As Wike Attacks Rivers Elders For Supporting Governor

The minister of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) Nyesom Wike has given an indication that the fight between him and his successor, Sim Fubara is far from over when he attacked Rivers State elders during a Church service on Sunday in Port Harcourt for supporting the governor and attacking the peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

Addressing the congregation during a thanksgiving and marriage anniversary of the immediate past Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Dr Des George-Kelly, at the Kings’ Assembly, Wike attacked Rivers elders, who recently rejected Tinubu’s cotentious peace deal.

The elders had said that some of the contents were illegal and that the president lacked the constitutional powers to meddle in the political impasse in the state.

But responding Wike said, “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 warned against ‘propaganda’, noting that he was dismayed that the same group of elders who were calling on the President to wade into the crisis were the ones now faulting his intervention.

 “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.”

The immediate past governor added, “Let me tell the Church, you know blackmail is the easiest thing. So many of you may be believing what is going on. So many of you may also follow on the road without knowing where you are heading. 

“Sit down and ask yourself can this be true? But just because we are no longer in power you may want to believe everything they have said.”

Since he signed the peace accord, which some of those who were present at the meeting said he was bullied into, Governor Fubara has said that he will abide by the provisions. However, both the elders and youths in the state have asked him to jettison the agreement, which according to them would truncate the will of millions of Rivers people who voted for him. While the youths threatened to occupy the Government House if he (Fubara) dared implement the peace resolution, the elders had asked a high court to declare it a nullity.

Meanwhile, the Opobo Elder Statesmen4Sim have also rejected the eight-point accord, saying it lacked legal grounding.

Rising from an emergency meeting in Port Harcourt at the weekend, the group in a communiqué by the Chairman, BoP of the group, Alabo Reuben Saturday-Jaja, Soide Jaja II, and Chairman, Alabo Cockeye Brown as well as members of the Executive Council, gave many reasons why the agreement is illegal and unenforceable.

The elders said, among other things, President Tinubu lacked the authority to meddle in the internal affairs of a state under the Nigerian Constitution. They noted Tinubu’s role primarily, as president, involves overseeing federal appointees and does not extend to dictating terms to a governor.

The elders explained that the President’s agreement cannot supersede court rulings, particularly those relating to legal proceedings such as impeachment or legislative matters.

They challenged the directive to withdraw court cases, highlighting the constitutional provision that mandates vacant seats for legislators who decamped without adhering to party division or merger protocols.

“We call on Mr. President to retract this purported agreement, as its execution risks plunging the state into a constitutional crisis. Should this request go unheeded, we are prepared to contest its constitutionality in a court of law as a necessary measure,” the elders demanded.