Rivers State Belongs To The People Of Rivers, Not Nyesom Wike, Fubura, Says Comr. Agberen

By Daniel Dafe

Comr.(Amb) Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, National Coordinator, Initiative For Social Rights Concerns And Advancement(ISRCA) AKA “No Justice, No Peace,” has said that “the rift between the former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara is rooted in perennial Nigerian political challenges, saying the state does not belong to the two.

Agberen who said this on Wednesday in a statement made available to Oasis Magazine, added that “it is common for predecessors to seek successors who will toe their line rather than pursue an opposing agenda.”

He quizzed: “What steps can be taken to resolve this impasse?”

He continued: “It is imperative to acknowledge the lingering crisis in the State resulting from the recent Local Government Elections, which was made by court orders from a federal high court in Abuja. These orders prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the 2023 voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and barred the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from ensuring security for the elections. INEC, in compliance with the court’s ruling, refrained from releasing the voter register to RSIEC as of October 2.

“Given these circumstances, Governor Fubara made a commitment to proceed with the election, declaring Thursday and Friday public holidays ahead of Saturday’s local government elections, which he directly oversaw in defiance of court orders. Governor Siminalayi Fubara should have opted for judicial recourse to address electoral grievances rather than proceeding unilaterally. The conduct of the LGA election without critical elements such as voter registration and police supervision was ill-advised, fostering chaos,” while blaming the current unrest on Fubara’s impulsive decisions.

He noted that “barely three hours after the Rivers State Police Command announced the unsealing of the previously closed local government secretariats, violence erupted in several areas, leading to arson, shootings and fatalities.”

According to him, “the Inspector-General of Police should not wait for the President to give orders before carrying out his constitutional duty.”

ALSO READ: Laudable! No Service Charge/Fee Increase, Rector Tells Students Of Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara

Adding: “He should prevail into the criśiś in the State, which has led to the burning of several Local Government Secretariats and destrüctiøn of public buildings to arrest the situation, bringing the perpetrators of viølënçe to book.”

The rights activist also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to put an end to “this carnage of misbehaviours by unruly supporters of Wike and Gov. Fubura.”

“The Federal Government of Nigeria does not need further investigative proceedings to point out those behind this mayhem and barbaric acts which disturbs democracy in Rivers State.
I understand that the judiciary can settle all political disputes, and the outcome of the Local Government polls should be no exception. It only takes one judgment to sack all chairmen elected unconstitutionally. All these violence without any form of due process is uninteresting and Governor Siminalayi Fubura should take responsibility for everything happening in Rivers State,” he concluded.