Elder statesman and the Leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged President Bola Tinubu to call the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, and the security forces in Rivers State to order.
Chief Clark made the call at a media briefing in Abuja, on Monday. He spoke against the backdrop of political developments in River State within the last 48 hours.
Clark said: “I have been greatly disturbed by the reported developments in Rivers State in the last 24 hours.
“I have been reliably informed that there is a plot to unlawfully remove Governor Siminalaye Fubara of Rivers State, who has spent only about five months in office.
“I understand the sad episode is being orchestrated by the immediate past Governor of Rivers State and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
“And that the intention is to remove the Governor, force his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu to resign, and install the Speaker of the House of Assembly, another Ikwerre person as the governor of the State. Let me warn strongly, we won’t allow that to happen!
“President Bola Tinubu must call Nyesom Wike and the security agencies in Rivers State to order, to avert any untold crisis in Rivers State.
“Last night, the hallowed chamber of the Rivers State House of Assembly was burnt, in what apparently is part of the plot to destabilise the state.
“The governor was tear-gassed and was even threatened with being shot at when he visited the Assembly Complex after the incident to assess the level of damage.
“We are not in a barbaric state where people can do whatever they like; we are in a democracy and the tenets of constitutional democracy must be upheld by all.
“Rivers people have suffered enough political crises. The state should not be allowed to degenerate again into its dark past, and the Niger Delta Region by extension.
“The consequences would be dire for the stability of the region and the National Economy. What has Governor Fubara done wrong? Refusing to be further ‘remote controlled’?
“Mr. Nyesom Wike was governor for eight years, nobody hassled him. He governed Rivers State like an emperor, he did not show any iota of respect and regard to anyone, not even those who imposed him on Rivers people in 2015.
“President Tinubu must act fast and avert the unfolding crisis in Rivers State in the interest of his administration, the nation’s democracy, and the Country at large. A word is enough for the wise.”
