Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has appealed to his supporters to embrace the recent peace accord reached between him and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, following a high-level reconciliation meeting convened by President Bola Tinubu.
The meeting, held on Thursday, brought together key political actors from the state, including Governor Fubara, Minister Wike, and the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule.
The goal was to put an end to the long-standing political feud that has rocked the oil-rich state for nearly two years.
Speaking during a gathering with members of his political support structure, the Simplified Family, in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Governor Fubara disclosed that he had accepted the resolutions reached at the meeting, despite the difficult conditions attached.
According to the governor, President Tinubu had urged him and his former political mentor, Wike, to reconcile in the interest of peace and progress in the state.
“After the meeting we had before May 29, we’ve had a series of engagements, and in one of those meetings with Mr. President, he clearly stated, ‘I want you and your oga to settle.’ That was his position,” Fubara said.
He acknowledged Wike’s significant contributions to his political emergence and urged his followers not to diminish the former governor’s influence, despite their recent differences.
“Nobody can take away the role my oga played; that’s the truth. Yes, we might have our differences, but nobody here will say he doesn’t know the role the man played. Nobody can wish away the risk he took,” Fubara noted.
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The governor admitted that the reconciliation process required painful concessions, but insisted it was the right path forward.
“If today there’s a need for us to settle, please, anyone who genuinely believes in me should understand that it’s the right thing to do.”
He stressed that genuine peace could only be achieved when both parties were willing to sit together and make sacrifices. “At this point, I have met him, and we have spoken. You can’t take away the fact that he’s human and was hurt. I also have my own share of pains,” Fubara explained.
“If he feels that for the pains he has gone through, these are the things he wants… it is not my life. I will give it to him and let us have that peace.”
Governor Fubara concluded his address by reaffirming his respect and appreciation for Wike’s role in his political journey and expressed hope that the reconciliation would mark a new beginning for Rivers State.