Wike to Fubara: “The moment you don’t obey court judgments, you are inviting anarchy and violence. Was that destruction done before now? A governor came out on national television to tell the world that I will not obey court judgment… In that case, who is the perpetrator of the violence, I am not blaming the Governor, but he is the architect of the violence in the state.”
By Emma Ogbuehi
A day after Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara advised President Bola Tinubu to look elsewhere for those orchestrating violence in his State, his predecessor and arch political enemy, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has accused him of being the “architect of violence.”
Following the crisis in Rivers State on Monday and President Bola Tinubu’s call for a de-escalation, the governor said while he appreciates the statement from the President about restoring peace, he was shocked when Tinubu mentioned his name.
Fubara said everybody knows where the problem was coming from.
Speaking during a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, on Monday, Fubara advised Wike to “let go.”
But countering him 24 hours later on the same programme, Wike, who is the immediate past governor of Rivers attributed the violence in the State to Fubara’s failure to obey the rule of law and court judgment.
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According to the FCT minister, the governor dismissed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja that restrained the police and other security agencies from participating in last Saturday’s local government election.
He said: “When I was governor, I always obeyed the rule of law. You heard the governor say that our state is turning to a state of anarchy where people do not obey the rule of law. What is obeying the rule of law?
“You must respect and obey the judgment of the court. You must not take the law into your hands. It does not matter how you see that judgment.
“The moment you don’t obey court judgments, you are inviting anarchy and violence. Was that destruction done before now?
“A governor came out on national television to tell the world that I will not obey court judgment.
“In fact, he said there is nowhere in the judgment that the court said the election should not hold. He went so far as to say, I don’t need police before I conduct the election.
“In that case, who is the perpetrator of the violence, I am not blaming the Governor, but he is the architect of the violence in the state”
“Did you see my supporters causing the mayhem, those shouting ‘No Wike, No Rivers,’ is not my business. I was in Abuja and not in Rivers on the day of the election”.
Lingering political hostility between Fubara and Wike took a messier dimension as the state conducted local council elections on Saturday.
Despite the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the police withdrawing from the electoral process, the governor proceeded with the election on Saturday.
The State was thrown into crisis on Monday, a day after the swearing in of the winners of the poll.
Bloody clashes erupted in at least four local government areas, with sections of buildings in Eleme, Ikwerre, and Emohua council premises set ablaze by thugs.
Sporadic gunfire was also reported in Ahoada East, apparently fired by those resisting the elected council officials.
