‘If it’ll bring peace to Rivers’ — Fubara says he is ready to quit office

Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, says no sacrifice is too big for him to make for the restoration of peace in the state.

Fubara spoke on Thursday in an interview with AIT.

The governor said he is willing to leave office if it will bring peace to the south-south state.

“No sacrifice will be too big for me to pay for the success of this administration and the reason is very simple,” Fubara said.

“It is not political love. It is not because I want to gain any favour from anybody. My interest and love for our dear state is genuine.

“I am not trying to say I want to be one man that would be there to decide the fate of all, no. But let Rivers state remain.

“If leaving this position is what I need or what is needed to bring more peace to the state, I can even tell you people to come and take it.

“It’s not about me. People should understand that definitely I will go but Rivers state will remain.”

THE POLITICAL CRISIS

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) and immediate past governor of Rivers, and Fubara, his successor, have been embroiled in a struggle for the control of Rivers’ political structure.

The feud between both men sparked a political crisis in the state leading to the demolition of the Rivers house of assembly complex.

The political crisis also resulted in the resignation of some of Fubara’s cabinet members.

In the wake of the crisis, Wike’s associates in the Rivers house of assembly commenced impeachment proceedings against the governor.

Fubara’s allies kicked against the impeachment moves.

Thereafter, 27 lawmakers in the state house of assembly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

On December 18, the governor and Wike agreed to end the political feud between them after President Bola Tinubu intervened.

Some of the resolutions reached at the meeting were that: “All matters instituted in courts by the different factions should be immediately withdrawn, the 27 lawmakers who defected to the APC should be taken back as members of the assembly, and the impeachment proceedings against Fubara should be withdrawn”.

The 27 lawmakers who signed the impeachment proceedings also rescinded the notice against the governor.

The governor has also sworn in the commissioners who resigned from his government.

The Rivers assembly is controlled by lawmakers loyal to Wike.

Fubara said he refrained from taking certain decisions during the crisis for the sake of peace.

“My burden at that time wasn’t the issue of all the drama,” he said.

“The millions of Rivers people who have made sacrifices, who have seen opportunities and they looked as if their hopes were being dashed.

“Those are the things I was worried about. What would be their fate? That was my trouble, it was not about me.

“I am the governor, no matter what it is, there are things I could have done and there would have been a total crisis.

“But your ability to restrain in the face of crisis, even when you have the power to do things, is maturity.”