Follow the Law for Peace: Wike Tells Fubara Amid Rivers State Election Crisis

A former governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike has asked his successor Siminalayi Fubara to follow the rule of law for peace to reign in the state.

Wike spoke on Tuesday when he was featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“There is peace when you obey the rule of law. There is peace when you obey court judgments,” the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said.

Wike’s comment came in the wake of the crisis in Rivers State.

The state has made headlines in recent months owing to a feud between Wike and Fubara. That dispute escalated some days back in the lead-up and aftermath of the local government elections in the state.

A court verdict had mandated the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) not to provide security for the election. It also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to release the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the exercise.

But the Fubara-led government insisted on the local government election and conducted same on Saturday.

The chairpersons and councilors were sworn in on Monday but that triggered another wave of violence in the state. Three local government council secretariats were set ablaze and properties were destroyed.

Fubara has since vowed to fish out the masterminds of the attacks and on Tuesday set up a panel to probe the incidents.

However, Wike said, insisted that Fubara should follow the court verdict to bring peace to the state.

“Obey court judgement, and allow the rule of law to prevail. If you don’t obey the law, you are bringing anarchy,” he said.

“I was a governor; I have always obeyed the rule of law. You heard the governor say that our state is turning into a state of anarchy where people do not obey the rule of law.

“You must obey the judgment of the court. You must not take the law into your own hands. The moment you don’t obey court judgment, you are inviting anarchy, you are inviting violence,” Wike said.

While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is Fubara and Wike’s party did not participate in the election, the Action Peoples Party (APP) clinched 22 out of the 23 chairmanship positions.

Wike, however, believes Fubara sponsored the APP.

“Today, people say ‘Discipline Wike, he did anti-party’. I did not do anti-party; I said we must stand for equity, fairness, and justice’,” he said while referencing his support of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.

“Today, what happened? The governor [Fubara] is the one who sponsored the APP. The chairman of the [PDP] governors’ forum was the one who attended the swearing-in”.