Elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has told President Bola Tinubu that Nyesom Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCT, is not ready for sustenance of peace in the political crisis rocking the state.
Clark, in a statement on Thursday, in Abuja, said the continuous activities of Wike are clear indications that he is not ready for peace in Rivers State.
According to reports, Tinubu intervened in the crisis when he issued an ‘8-point pact’ to both parties that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his allies should withdraw all court cases pertaining to the matter, which is against the 1999 Constitution and against popular opinion of Rivers people and indeed Nigerians.
Fubara and his associates, including the Speaker recognised by the court, Edison Ehie, have complied with the agreement.
According to the statement, “The expectation is that the 26 decamped legislative members who had filed cases in court, would have also done the same. But they refused, giving rise to the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotoso on January 22, 2024, stating amongst other things, the nullification of the 2024 Budget which was presented by Governor Fubara, passed and signed into law.”
Justice Omotoso also said he based his judgment on the fact that the legislatures said there was no evidence of settlement of the matter before him.
Clark, an Ijaw leader, said it showed clearly that Fubara obeyed Tinubu and carried out his directive in violation of the 1999 Constitution ‘for the sake of peace,’ except that which he is currently precluded from doing by the courts, adding that even though majority of Nigerians were not happy with the terms of the settlement.
He said having done all these against the Constitution, which Fubara, as Governor of Rivers State swore to uphold, Wike cannot be seen as advancing peace in the State.
He urged Tinubu to caution Wike to allow Fubara to govern the State peacefully.