October 30, (THEWILL) – Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged President Bola Tinubu to act fast and avert the unfolding crisis in Rivers State in the interest of his administration.
THEWILL earlier reported the arson on the Rivers State Assembly Complex on Sunday night, and the move by some senators loyal to the FCT Minister to impeach Governor Siminalaye Fubara.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, chief Clark warned that the nation’s democracy, and the Country at large would be in trouble if Nyesom Wike is not called to order over his alleged plot against Governor Fubara.
Chief Clark, who fingered the former Rivers governor in the ongoing political developments in Rives, said Wike’s intention is to force Fubara’s deputy to resign after a successful impeachment and install the Speaker of the state House of Assembly as governor.
He, therefore, urged President Tinubu to call Wike and the security forces in Rivers State to order.
His words: “I have been greatly disturbed by the reported developments in Rivers State in the last 24 hours.
“I have been reliably informed that there is a plot to unlawfully remove Governor Siminalaye Fubara of Rivers State, who has spent only about five 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!
“President Bola Tinubu must 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 destabilise 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.
“What has Governor Fubara done wrong? Refusing to be further ‘remote controlled’?
“Mr Nyesom Wike was governor for eight 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. A word is enough for the wise.”
