A former Commissioner for Water Resources in Rivers State, Chief David Briggs, who attended the peace meeting alleged that President Tinubu intimidated Governor Fubara into signing the eight-point peace resolution with Wike, his immediate predecessor and political mentor.
Chief Briggs said Governor Fubara signed the resolution under duress, following alleged indirect threats issued by President Tinubu before handing him the document to sign.
Briggs’ revelation came as most of the agreements were yet to be implemented.
G27 vs G4
The dichotomy between the G27 and G4 factions of the Rivers House of Assembly remains as both factions were yet to begin joint sittings, and Governor Fubara is yet to re-present his 2024 N800.3 billion budget to the House.
The G27, a group of 27 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, legislators, who defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, sat on Wednesday and withdrew their impeachment notice against Governor Fubara but efforts to withdraw the court order obtained by the governor stopping the lawmakers from impeaching could not be withdrawn and the court and rescheduled hearing for January 31, 2024.
How Fubara was ambushed
Briggs said he was at the villa with other Rivers elders, who were equally invited, hence he witnessed first-hand what transpired on Monday.
He said President Tinubu threatened that there would be consequences, should Governor Fubara refuse to endorse and abide by the tenets of the document, which he described as “presidential proclamation.
“I was there, so I’m a witness and what I say is primary, not secondary. We were invited for a meeting but that was not a meeting. What happened was that Mr. President walked in with a written resolution, addressed us and declared that what he has in his hand is a presidential proclamation and emphasised the fact that he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and anybody who dares to say no to what he is saying would face the consequences.
“That, in a simple layman’s word, is called a threat. Let’s get it very clear, if you are in the position of the governor, what will you do, will you get up and say no to Mr President with that kind of subtle but energetic threat?”
He disclosed that most Rivers people, who were present at the meeting, including Adokiye Amaesimaka, were shocked at the President’s attitude and decided to ask questions.
He continued: “That being the case, one of us asked him (President Tinubu) a simple question. To be specific, Adokiye Amaesimaka asked him, you said Sim should do this, governor should do that, you have not said what the 25 or 27 Assembly members that defected from PDP to APC without consulting their constituencies and constituents, should do.
“And of course you can see the situation, the President’s reaction was very clear and simple but very dangerous.”
Recall that Governor Fubara and Wike have been at loggerheads with each other over who controls the state’s political structure since October, a development that has since put the state in serious tension.
Some of the resolutions issued by the President had directed that all impeachment proceedings against the governor be dropped, matters instituted in courts consequent upon the crisis by Fubara and his team be dropped, among others which clearly favour the Wike camp.
Nevertheless, the state Commissioner for Information, Joe Johnson, said on Wednesday that Governor Fubara signed the peace agreement and would implement it. Earlier, the governor at a function on Tuesday said no price was too big to ensure peace in the state.
PDP warns members against unguarded comments
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP, has warned leaders and members of the party against making unguarded statements capable of bringing the party to disrepute.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, in a statement, in Abuja, yesterday, said the decision to issue the warning was taken at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday.According to him, the warning became imperative in the light of disturbing comments being made by some party leaders about developments in Rivers State.
Ologunagba said at the end of its emergency meeting on Wednesday, the PDP “re-assures all members, critical stakeholders and supporters of our Party that its interventions particularly with regard to the political development in Rivers State are yielding desired results.
“The NWC, however, expresses serious displeasure over incautious conduct, activities and unguarded utterances by certain leaders, who were out to disparage critical organs of the party, inflame passions, cause division among members and bring our dear party to public disrepute for their selfish reasons.
“Of particular reference is the deleterious public statement credited to the former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, which was made apparently with the intent to inject bad blood and drag down our party for self-seeking motives.
“The NWC has received very disturbing reports that such unscrupulous individuals are recruited by the one-party-state seeking APC administration to undermine the cohesion that exists within the PDP, which will enable it to effectively perform its opposition role for the sustenance of democracy and the well-being of Nigerians.
“It is rather unfortunate that such inexcusable conducts, comments, utterances and betrayals are coming from individuals, who have benefited immensely from the PDP but who have the record and notoriety of brazenly betraying the party in various elections and at slightest opportunity for their selfish interests.
“It is instructive to state that some of the challenges that plagued our party in the recent past and those confronting it at the moment are traceable to the comments, utterances and actions of these individuals which are inconsistent with the opportunity that the party gave them in the past.”
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment