Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has appealed to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, to give up on his quest to control the state’s political affairs in the interest of peace.
Speaking on Channels Television on Monday, the governor said the minister must understand that he cannot win all fights.
He said Wike must give up the fight because of his love for Rivers, adding that there is no need to burn down the state.
Fubara said, “I will tell him (Wike) that there is going to be a point that he needs to let go.
“We need peace in this state. You don’t necessarily need to win all the fights at all times. You just let go for the sake of the good people of Rivers state and the love he (Wike) has always professed for the state.
“We don’t need to burn down the state. Fubara will leave tomorrow, who knows who is going to come next?”
On the decision to adopt the Action Peoples Party (APP) for the last election by his loyalists, Fubara said it was not a matter of political structure but a move to meet the deadline for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy.
The governor noted that there was no way his candidates would have contested the election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to the “drama” in the party.
He said, “After the ruling of the Supreme Court on LGA autonomy, we (governors) had an understanding with the President and he gave us a window of 90 days to comply.
“The 90-day deadline expired on October 31. I needed to do something. There is no way that election would have been conducted in my party considering the drama surrounding my party.
“So, I opted for something safer to secure the civil servants that are working in the LGAs to ensure we have administrative officers, who would manage the affairs of the council.”
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted elections into 23 chairmanship and 319 councillorship seats in the state on Saturday.
The APP secured victory in 22 LGAs in the election, while the Action Alliance (AA) won the remaining one council.
The governor’s loyalists joined the APP to secure the party’s tickets to contest the election.
On Sunday, the Rivers governor swore in the newly-elected LGA chairpersons.
Also noteworthy was that the police officers were not present at the polling units during the exercise, having been barred by a court order from providing security during the election.
On September 30, a federal high court in Abuja stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register to RSIEC.
The court also barred the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the conduct of the election.
Hoodlums attempting to prevent the newly-elected chairpersons from resuming duties burned some sections of three council headquarters on Monday.
