Former Commissioner for Information and Communications in Rivers State, Ogbonna Nwuke, has stated that the suspended Governor, Sim Fubara, did not attend the peace deal meeting with a crowd, as the warring parties had all agreed to come down from their high horses.
Naijaonpoint recalls that on Thursday night, President Bola Tinubu brokered peace between Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The closed-door meeting was held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, where Tinubu hosted Wike, Fubara, and the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, alongside a handful of lawmakers.
Nwuke, a former member of the House of Representatives, in an interview with Punch, stated that Thursday’s meeting was the culmination of several reconciliatory efforts championed by President Tinubu.
He explained that such a meeting required only those directly affected, such as the FCT Minister, Assembly members, and Fubara himself.
He said, “Very clearly, the President has been behind efforts to reconcile. Those who are following events know that right from the time Governor Siminalayi met him (Tinubu) in the United Kingdom, the President has been behind the scene pulling the strings getting the warring parties to come to the round table.
“What happened yesterday (Thursday) was the climax of all of the efforts that have been made to restore understanding, to build cooperation and also to enhance collaboration among major actors within the Rivers polity.
“I’m certain the major conversations which took place are not on the table anywhere else. Only those who were in that meeting know. And I think that outside God, there is only one man who knows when this thing will be lifted. That person is the President. So, the nation is looking forward now to the President. And we believe that any moment from now the President will do what is needful.”
Similarly, the Special Adviser to Fubara on Electronic Media, Jerry Omatsogunwa, stated that the reconciliation would usher in peace and development in the state, emphasising that the emergency rule and the governor’s suspension had negatively impacted the state socially and economically.
Omatsogunwa also stressed the need for all parties to respect the leaders’ decision, even as he advised that the governor’s office must be respected.
He said, “So, now that the gladiators have said they are ready to sheath their swords for the peace of Rivers State, what else?
“The FCT minister was there and he said he is ready for peace. The Assembly people are also ready for peace and everybody needs to respect the decisions of their leaders so that at the end of the day, he still remain your leader.
“What we are after is anything that will bring about peace and development to Rivers State, it’s not a big task. There has been arrested development, everywhere was dirty, businesses are shutting down, no business, contractors are even moving out of sites.”
Responding to questions about fears, the aide said that, although he had neither seen nor heard anything, he believed Fubara would be put in a situation that would make him ‘donate his head.’
He added, “Our people will always say that the one who holds the head of the cutlass is the one who owns the cutlass.
“As it stands now, he is the one that holds the head of the cutlass, and he is the owner of the cutlass, he is the champion, he is the leader of Rivers State, over seven million people, and I think they need to also respect that.”