Rivers state crisis: Tinubu must call Wike to order now—Clark

National Leader of South-South/PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark has urge President Bola Tinubu to call to order his Minister of FCT, former governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, and other security agencies over alleged plan to forcefully impeach the governor of Rivers state, Siminalaye Fubara.

It would be recalled that the state has been under serious crisis since the weekend following removal of the majority leader of the state House of Assembly by lawmakers allegedly loyal to Wike, while those loyal to the governor also retaliated by impeaching the Speaker on Monday.

Reacting to the unfolding scenario, Chief Clark in an open letter said he was greatly disturbed by the reported developments in the state in the last 24 hours.

“I have been reliably informed that there is a plot to unlawfully remove the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Siminalaye Fubara, who has spent only about 5 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!

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He urged President Bola Tinubu to 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 destabilize 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.

“Mr. Nyesom Wike was Governor for 8 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,” he added.