Prominent South-South leader Chief Edwin Clark has again written to President Bola Tinubu on the ongoing crisis in Rivers State, drawing his attention to the fact that the forces arrayed against Governor Siminalayi Fubara are allegedly being buoyed by federal might.
In the letter made available to the media on Tuesday, he chronicled the threatening statements made by the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and directed at Governor Fubara with the intention to destabilise his administration.
He said it is such reliance on federal might that has encouraged the defected assemblymen to continue to claim their seats, with the former local government chairman wanting to sit tight and the police preventing duly appointed local government caretaker committees from accessing their offices.
The leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) also told the president that from his antecedents, Wike is not a politician that can be trusted, saying: “Mr President, even though you trusted Nyesom Wike to the extent of appointing him as Minister of FCT, you did not really know who Nyesom Wike is.”
He urged Tinubu, who he said as Lagos State governor had suffered from the overbearing influence of a president who tried to destabilise his administration by withholding Lagos State finances, to also understand what Fubara was going through at the hands of his predecessor in office.
Clark told Tinubu: “The continuous activities of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, are clear indications that he is not ready for peace in Rivers State.
“As a former governor yourself who suffered under the heavy hand of President Obasanjo and held your funds for several years, you can appreciate the unnecessary pressure and distraction that the governor is going through by having a very high-handed former boss breathing down on him with federal might.
“Let me ask, if not for federal might, on what basis would former members of the State House of Assembly who publicly declared to all a change of political party and were seen carrying the flag of your party and singing the songs of your party still claim to be members of the Assembly?
“Is this not contrary to Section 109(1) g of the 1999 Constitution and the extant Supreme Court judgement as I referred to earlier? If not for the presumed federal support, on what basis would local government chairmen whose tenures have expired refuse to vacate office?
“If not for the federal might, on what basis would Nigerian police, whose duty it is to keep law and order, take over the premises of the local government secretariats in the name of protecting law and order?
“If not for federal might, why are former local government chairmen still parading themselves to be in office, granting interviews, carrying out demonstrations, and enjoying very visible police protection?
“If not for federal might, why will the police stop the duly constituted Local Government Caretaker Chairmen and workers from accessing the premises to perform their duties? If not the supposed federal might, why is the judiciary now in total confusion over the contradictory judgements flying everywhere?
“Let the truth be told to you, Mr. President. Nyesom Wike is not ready for any form of peace. Therefore, I call on you once again to caution Mr. Wike and call him to order in the overall interest of Nigerians to allow the elected governor, Siminalayi Fubara, whom he, Nyesom Wike, claimed he made, to govern Rivers State peacefully.”
Chief Clark noted the promise made by the presidency through the president’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, not to take sides in the Rivers State crisis, urging President Tinubu to abide by it and immediately bring the imbroglio to an end.
He added, “That some of us have kept quiet on issues such as this is not because we are afraid to speak out but because of the respect and support that we have for your office. I have seen a lot in politics and governance, both in Nigeria and around the world. What may seem irrelevant to you today can become a major difficulty for the government in no time.
“As one old enough to be your father since you are only 73 years old, I advise again: let this small fire in Rivers State be quenched immediately and not allowed to conflagrate further.
“Specifically, I am calling on you to tread the path of great honour as a self-professed democrat in bringing the very troubling situation in Rivers State to an immediate end. This is because not doing so will appear like the proverbial Caesar sitting on his oars when Rome was burning. Let me remind you that the situation in Rivers State is like a banana peel, and if nothing is done early, it could engulf everywhere.”
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