By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, visited him at his Port Harcourt residence with two other governors for peace talks
Wike spoke during a live media chat, on Monday.
Confirming his immediate successor’s visit, the minister added that those who accompanied Fubara governors to his residence are “unfortunately”, governors from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Yes, he came. He came with two governors and one other person. Unfortunately, the two governors are APC governors, so I will not pursue them. And he said he wants peace, fine. I want peace,” Wike said.
Wike, a former governor Rivers State, described what Fubara is going through as a “self-inflicted injury”, stressing that he warned his successor against threading the path that led to his supposed trouble but he failed to heed his warning.
The minister noted that he gave the warning in the presence of some prominent politicans, including the incumbent governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom among others.
“Indeed, this is a self-inflicted injury. He does not need it. When this thing started, I called him, Seyi Makinde was there, Ortom was there, Ikpeazu was there, Ugwuanyi was there, we were scouting. We sat him down and said this thing is not good for you. God has given you this thing, why not be humble and not allow people to push you? They are telling you to act like a governor. We know. Nobody is taking it away; you are a governor. But all I am saying is don’t abandon people who have laboured for you day and night,” he said.
Addressing the issue of open grazing in the FCT, Wike said he felt a need to “thread cautiously”, noting that he was doing everything to address the issue.
“The truth is that nobody is happy about it… Governance is not like when you are running a private business; you have to tread carefully, and we are doing everything we can. For example, before I came, there was a place where land was allocated for grazing reserves, about 100 hectares. If I tell you the fight we are currently fighting. So many people have encroached, land grabbers have encroached, but it’s a problem that will be sorted out, though we have to tread cautiously,” Wike said.
