… Decries alleged destruction of Wike’s billboard in Opobo
The Convener of Unity House Foundation (UHF), a peace, social justice and good governance advocacy group, Kingsley Wenenda Wali, has condemned the action of the members of Rivers State House of Assembly in overriding Governor Sim Fubara on four bills.
Wenenda Wali, a peace advocate, noted that the action of the state lawmakers coming at a time Fubura was trying to play his part in the peace deal to resolve the crisis in Rivers, occasioned by the disputations between him and the immediate past governor and Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was not proper.
The UHF Convener, in a statement issued on Saturday in Port-Harcourt, appealed to the assembly members loyal to Wike to exercise caution and restraint in some of their actions to pave the way for the restoration of peace in the state.
Wike, who worked hard for the victory of Fubara at the polls last year, has been at loggerheads with the governor, his godson, a situation that has caused a lot of tension in Rivers State for a while now.
“I am urging the supporters of the minister in the state assembly to reciprocate the peace gestures of Governor Sim Fubara. Exercising their right to override the governor on four bills, on the same day that the governor swore in commissioners as part of the peace deal, cannot be an action in good faith.
“I’ve asking myself the difference between Peace by all means, compromise and principles. Is peace a responsibility of one party in a disputation, or a determined effort to give and take? Certainly, peace is not another word for manipulation. Shouldn’t we be acting in a manner that’s suggestive of our commitment to a Rivers State that is free of bitterness? Anything short of this, presupposes that fanning the embers of bitterness has become an enterprise, and protagonists of war without end, are mere crisis entrepreneurs that must be seen for who they are? Governor Sim Fubara has shown that (I guess) he is committed to honoring the agreement he entered into with his predecessor by resubmitting the list of commissioners who earlier resigned, and gone ahead to swear them in. I’m wondering if overriding his views on four bills on the same day, is a good gesture in reciprocity. Rivers State is a great state and will remain great, only if we do our best. Unending political disputation is not our best,” Wali maintained.
On the destruction of Wike’s billboard by some youths seen in a video online allegedly in Opobo, the country home of Fubara following the Supreme Court judgement validating the governor’s election, Wali said: “The destruction of billboard with Wike’s picture sighted in an online video by some youths allegedly in Opobo is totally unacceptable and Governor Fubara, must rein in his supporters with fascist predisposition. This is certainly not how to celebrate electoral victory, but a celebration of bile and hatred. Personally, I’m pained and hurt by this despicable disposition of a journey to the state of nature. Whatever happened between Wike and Fubara, falls squarely within the realm of politics. Even with the extreme disputations, it’s still politics and power play.
“This act of destroying billboards with invectives, should have no place in the Rivers State we are praying for. For clarity, we must understand that Ezenwo Wike has loyalists, friends and relations who are hurting. This is not the time for rubbing salt on their open sore. What if they start destroying billboards of the governor in their own domain? Don’t tell me one good turn deserves another. Nobody should be encouraged to invite violence, even as they celebrate,” the UHF Convener warned.
Continuing, he added: “If only we realize that life is actually a journey. Just be patient and you never know. I remember the day the Supreme Court ruled that Chibuike Amaechi should be sworn in as governor immediately. To some, it looked like the world had come to end. While a couple of others concluded that it was their time to live in Eldorado for life. When Wike won in 2015, Amaechi’s supporters realized that life was indeed a journey. Today, Sim has won and the journey of a life of pain and joy continues. With his victory, Governor Sim Fubara has a one in a lifetime opportunity to break this vicious circle of bitterness in Rivers State, when a brother or sister wins. It won’t cost him an arm and a leg to create the enabling environment for peace and love to reign in Rivers State. Let him try it, and he will discover that it’s not such a tough call really. Let us believe that our state is really a land of milk and honey, and it can actually be sweet to all of us, so we can all dey together. Nobody needs to dey him dey. God did not make us to dey our dey. We’re a people united in love and revelry and it must remain like that.”
