Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark has urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in the crisis rocking Rivers State to reconcile the political gladiators and prevent the situation from degenerating into a breakdown of law and order.
Recall that in the past month, there had been an uneasy calm in Rivers State following a fierce power tussle between the Governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor in office, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
In an open letter addressed to Tinubu, the elder statesman recalled that when the crisis erupted about four weeks ago, he had pleaded with the President to intervene in the matter, an advice he said, Tinubu acted upon and restored relative peace to the state. However, Clark disclosed, that the latest developments in Rivers State have shown that the crisis has not been completely resolved and the warring factions have returned to the trenches.
Apart from the earlier moves by some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against Fubara, twenty-seven members had on Monday ( yesterday) announced their mass defection to the All Progressives Congress ( APC), the ruling party at the federal level.
“I thank you for the action which you took at the time, including urging the Governor, HE Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor in office, Mr Nyesom Wike who is today a Minister in your government to sheath their swords. However, let no one be deceived, the situation is not yet over and things seem to be degenerating by the day.
“Both the Minister and the Governor are my sons and that informs my particular interest to ensure that peace returns as soon as possible to Rivers State.
“Besides, Rivers State is significant to the stability of the Niger Delta and the overall national economy. Therefore any breakdown of law and order there will not be in the overall interest of all,” Clark said.
According to the one-time Minister of Information, the crisis appears to be a power tussle over who should control the PDP political structure in the state but wondered what the minister needed to do with the so-called structures. He expressed disappointment at the public utterances of Wike on the crisis, alleging that his provocative posture appears to be fuelling and compounding the already charged situation.
“As a member of your cabinet, you may need to call this minister to order to face the work in the quietness which is demanded of him. He should focus on his office and know that he is just one among a cabinet of 48 persons, besides the Vice President and yourself.
“The country has enough problems which your government must sit down to solve. The FCT itself is full of challenges all over and he has more than he can chew and therefore avoid these distractions.
“I have to speak out because unfortunately, those in my category who I sometimes say have already collected our boarding passes and seen this country evolve through thick and thin are very few, while some others are not willing or ready to talk about issues, I have been too active and owe it a duty to add my voice to these issues which need to be corrected,” Clark said.