Protesters occupied the entrance gate of Government House in Port Harcourt on peaceful protest in support of the Governor.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The faceoff between Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike took another dimension on Friday as hundreds of protesters occupied the entrance gate of Government House in Port Harcourt on peaceful protest in support of the Governor.
The protesters, comprising students union, civil liberty organizations, various ethnic communities in the state, took up positions, as early as 7 am and occupied the Government House main gate along Azikiwe road. They were bent on getting the details of the recent peace accord brokered by President Bola Tinubu for the governor and his erstwhile godfather.
Explaining their action, Comrade Levi Okoru, the coordinator of national association of Nigerian students, (NANS) said, “We are here to demand that our governor speaks to us on what happened in the meeting he attended in Abuja at the instance of the President.
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“This is a solidarity visit and as our father, he went on a trip. Now that he is back, we want him to brief us.
“We also want him to know that no matter the pressure he is passing through, Rivers State students are solidly behind him”.
On his part, Comrade Abbey Precious Sime-Ipiri, National President of Rivers State students, said Governor Fubara has the support of students because he promised to pay “our bursary after eight years”.
On the peace agreement Abbey noted that “those things were just mere directives by the President and they are not binding by any known laws.”
The crisis between Fubara and Wike, centred on the control of Rivers politics and by extension, the resources of the state. In the course of the impasse, moves were made by 27 members of the House of Assembly sympathetic to Wike, to impeach the governor, which four lawmakers loyal to him promptly thwarted. The 27 lawmakers further dumped the PDP and crossed over to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Not wanting to be caught napping, Fubara ordered the demolition of the Assembly complex and hastily signed the state’s 2024 appropriation bill into law. Members of the legislature in his camp, also declared the positions of those that had joined the APC, vacant. The pro-Fubara legislators further got a court pronouncement declaring the Speaker in their fold, the authentic presiding officer.
The situation remained hazy when Tinubu intervened, summoned the warring parties in Abuja, where some fleeting agreements were entered into. They included withdrawal of all court processes, cessation of impeachment moves against Fubara, recognition of Martins Amaewhule, the Speaker on Wike’s camp and recall of commissioners who resigned their offices in solidarity with the FCT Minister.