Rivers Crisis: Fubara Visited Me With Two Governors – Wike

Former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, made this statement in response to recent reports that Governor Fubara, who faced suspension earlier this year, had visited him in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Wike reiterated this on Monday, addressing the reports that Fubara, suspended some months ago, met with him in Abuja.

“The President has called for peace severally and I cannot sit down when the President has called for peace and I say, ‘I don’t want peace’,” Wike stated during a media chat with selected journalists in the capital.

“Yes, he came with two governors and one elder person. Unfortunately, the two governors are APC governors. So, I will not pursue him. He said he wants peace. That’s fine. I also want peace.”

The dispute between Wike and Fubara plunged the state into prolonged political tension, reaching a peak when President Bola Tinubu intervened by suspending Governor Fubara, the Rivers State House of Assembly, and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu.

Following the suspension, Tinubu appointed a temporary administrator to oversee the affairs of Rivers State for a period of six months—a development that stirred varied reactions nationwide.

Despite the passage of time, Wike noted that while Fubara appears to be seeking reconciliation, he still needs to take concrete steps rather than allegedly inciting protests against the imposition of a state of emergency in the state.

“I told him, ‘Look, I don’t think you have the capacity to really make this peace.’ That’s why when I read what I read yesterday, I felt so bad. Why? If you are making peace, your people are demonstrating every day; if you are making peace, your people are busy on television insulting people. How do you feel in that case?”

“You must take steps. Have you met the assembly people? There are leaders you should meet. It is not to say, ‘I want peace.’ You must show it by conduct and action,” the ex-governor emphasized.

Wike further alleged that some governors misled Fubara at the beginning of the crisis.

“Governors came pushing him, where are they now? I think the governors are enjoying their own,” he said.

“Fubara is a young man, I warned him saying, look, go this way, go this way and you will not have problems.”