- Urge PDP NWC To Address Rivers Crisis
By Abiola Olawale
Governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have declared their support for one of their counterparts, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State who has been facing an acrimonious relationship with his predecessor, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
The party’s Governors’ Forum rose from a meeting held at Government House, Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, on Friday with a resolve to engage the National Working Committee (NWC) to address the crisis in Rivers State.
The Governors also affirmed that Fubara should be allowed to assume his rightful leadership role within the party hierarchy in the state.
This position was outlined in a communiqué released after the forum’s monthly meeting. In a statement signed by Nelson Chukwudi, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Fubara, the communiqué was presented by the forum’s Chairman and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed.
Mohammed said: “The Forum notes the political impasse in Rivers State, where court judgments are employed to determine the outcome of the party congresses
.“The PDP Governors’ Forum restates its support for the Governor of Rivers State and will engage the NWC of our great party to revisit the congress to correctallowmaly and allowing His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to take his rightful leadership position in the party in the State.”
The PDP Governors’ Forum also urged the Federal Government to stop the blame game about the just-concluded #EndBadGovernance protests across the country and focus on governance by addressing core policy issues to reduce the sufferings of Nigerians.
The statement added: “The meeting deliberated on crucial intra-party and governance matters affecting our states, as well as those of overriding national interest and importance.
“The Governors noted with a sigh of relief the end of the #EndBadGovernance protests, which was edging toward a major national crisis.
“We salute the dexterity of the Governors, especially those of the PDP, in handling the situation in their respective states with maturity, thereby restraining hoodlums and other unscrupulous elements from hijacking the protests.
“The Forum reiterates that peaceful protests are the inalienable rights of citizens through which they vent their genuine grievances.
“The Forum commiserates with the families of those innocent souls that were lost and calls on the Federal Government to ensure a fair and speedy trial of those who were arrested.
“The Forum laments that rather than undertake a review of macro-economic and social policies to give them a human face, the Federal Government has resorted to blackmail.
“We call on Mr. President to show statesmanship by restraining his officials from blame games that make the sub-nationals look bad by mentioning piecemeal interventions that cannot solve the problem.
“We remain unshaken in our firm resolve to stand with the suffering Nigerian masses and to take all legitimate steps to ameliorate their plight.”
It would be recalled that Rivers State has been in the news for the past one year over the cold war between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.
While the reasons for the acrimonious relationship between the two political juggernauts remain top secret, some insider sources had said that Wike and Fubara are purportedly battling for the control of the oil-rich state’s resources and political machinery.
