The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Sunday, said he did not invite President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the political crisis in Rivers State following the rift between him and Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Wike disclosed this during a thanksgiving ceremony organised for the immediate past works commissioner in the state, George Kelly Alabo, at the Kings’ Assembly in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Addressing the congregation during the event broadcast by TVC, Wike said, “If you go and pull the ladder you used to climb up, when you are coming down, if the ladder is pulled down, I don’t know how you will come down.
“I pray for the church to continue praying for us and let us be firm. We must thank Mr President for interfering and intervening but I was not the one who invited Mr President. You people are the ones – President, intervene. The President has now intervened, he has no constitutional power.
“You are the ones who said that the President should intervene and the President has intervened to bring peace.
You now turned around to say he does not have the constitutional power. No matter what circumstances, if the President invites me to a meeting and tells me to do something, within 24 hours I will carry it out because not only as President, I have subjected myself to the peace process and if you ask.”
Speaking further, the former Rivers governor said, “Some of us do not even know that Mr. President had invited us privately and said do this, do this, do this. And you agreed before Mr. President and you didn’t do it. And President now said, ‘Okay, the larger state, come.’ We must tell our people the simple truth, I have done my own part and I am happy and I am doing well in Abuja too.”
SaharaReporters reported on Monday, December 18, 2023, that President Tinubu had intervened in the political crisis rocking the state, as the factional Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, was mandated to recognise 27 members of the Assembly who had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
SaharaReporters obtained the eight-point resolution from the closed-door meeting that President Tinubu had with Governor Fubara, former governors of the state, Peter Odili and Wike, along with other stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
SaharaReporters reported that the political crisis ravaging the state followed a prolonged disagreement between Governor Fubara and Wike, his predecessor and political godfather.
The political crisis deepened between October 29 and 30, this year, when the hallowed chamber of the House of Assembly was burnt, following alleged moves to impeach Fubara.
This led to the emergence of two factional speakers – Matins Amaehule, who is loyal to Wike; and Edison Ehie, a strong supporter of Fubara.
However, as the crisis worsened, 27 members of the house said to be loyal to Wike announced their defection to the APC.
But one of them later made a U-turn.
To stop the lingering crisis, the president and some stakeholders from the state recently held a closed-door meeting.
Meanwhile, at the end of the closed-door meeting, an eight-point resolution was reached and all the stakeholders appended their signatures to bring the crisis to an end.
However, several people including the elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark and Mr Femi Falana (SAN) have rejected President Tinubu’s intervention, describing it as “unconstitutional”.
