Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that he has forgiven Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and revealed that they recently spoke on the telephone, signalling reconciliation after months of political turmoil in the State.
“I can’t speak with a man I’ve not forgiven,” Wike said on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Thursday night.
“As of yesterday (Wednesday), I spoke with the governor. It doesn’t matter who called, but what is important is that we spoke, and he told me he was leaving the next morning. I told him I was leaving to come back that night. So I can tell you peace has come, and see what the assembly did to set the tone today.”
Wike commended President Bola Tinubu for lifting the state of emergency earlier imposed on Rivers, describing the move as a courageous intervention that restored calm.
“I must commend Mr President for lifting the emergency rule in Rivers, so many people, so many people became constitutional experts, senior advocates and analysts because of the so-called emergency rule. I believe so many of the Rivers people are happy because of what Mr President has done. And what did he do? What was the basis of declaring the state of emergency?” Wike asked.
The former Rivers State governor explained that the initial decision to declare emergency rule was tied to constitutional issues highlighted by the Supreme Court.
“The basis was that one, the Supreme Court said there was no governance in Rivers because at that time it was only one arm of government that was functioning, being the executive, as if it was functioning. The legislature was not in existence. At the local government level, the Supreme Court set aside a purported election that was held that was not in consonance with the law. And remember that before now, the supreme court said, ‘look, you cannot have a caretaker committee in the local governments because Section 7 of the Constitution, as amended, guarantees the existence of the local government and therefore if there’s no local government, you cannot derive from the Federation Account’,” he stated.
According to Wike, President Tinubu stepped in because failure to act decisively could have escalated into a deeper crisis.
“And the President said so many other things that came to the fact that if we don’t take these actions then there will be serious crisis. I want to thank him for taking that bold step, it would have been a different ball game,” Wike added.
He also explained the political calculations behind the President’s intervention, saying the emergency declaration was a compromise to maintain peace.
“As a politician, for the interest of the state, the President is my boss, he looked at it and said, yes you are working with me, the governor may have infringed and committed impeachable offence, we want peace, and the only way we can get peace is by declaring state of emergency and then see how things can stabilize. That led to the meetings with my humble self, the governor, the assembly, the National Assembly, and key stakeholders, we all met and agreed we have to move forward, and to the glory of God as I speak to you peace returned,” he recounted.
Wike, however, warned against those he described as “natural crisis builders” who thrive only in periods of conflict.
“The only thing I can say while watching on TV today is that there are people who are natural crisis builders, who think they can only benefit when there is a crisis,” he said.
He stressed that he deliberately chose peace over escalation, maintaining consistent communication with Governor Fubara.
“If for us, we don’t want the state of emergency to be lifted, we would have done one or two things, but I said no, for the interest of the state, I was talking with the governor from time to time and he has assured me we can’t go back now, and the President has stabilized the state. Anything that’s for peace I am for it,” Wike said.
Finally, the former Rivers governor emphasised his straightforward approach to politics, dismissing suggestions that his reconciliation with Fubara was merely tactical.
“I can’t speak with a man I’ve not forgiven, I don’t play like that. I am not a politician who says one thing here and does another thing. If I tell you we are quarrelling, then we are quarrelling. If I tell you peace has come, then peace has truly come,” Wike declared.
