Real reason I can’t make peace with Fubara – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he will not be able to make peace with the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, without the involvement of key parties to the political feud between them.

Mr Wike spoke in Abuja on Monday during a media chat which was broadcast live on Channels TV.

Messrs Wike and Fubara have been locked in a protracted fight over the control of the political structures in Rivers State, which split the state legislature into two factions and led to the declaration of emergency rule in the oil-rich state by President Bola Tinubu.

‘No peace without others’

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Fubara recently visited his predecessor, Mr Wike, at his Abuja residence to beg for reconciliation.

Mr Fubara was led to Mr Wike’s residence by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun.

Mr Tinubu had suspended Governor Fubara and appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator in the state after declaring the emergency rule.

Speaking during the media chat, Mr Wike stressed that Mr Fubara’s peace efforts will not yield results if he does not involve all parties to the political crises.

“Will he make peace without the (suspended) assembly members? Will he make peace without the leaders of the party?

“I tried to be honest with people, and I’ve said so. The mere fact that Mr President said, look, make peace. It will be difficult for me to disobey Mr President, but he should know that it’s not water that is flowing in my body, it’s blood,” he said.

Asked if Mr Fubara was remorseful during the visit, Mr Wike expressed doubt about the genuity of peace move by the suspended governor.

“I feel so bad each time I read these things. I feel so bad because, yes, once Governor Dapo Abiodun and one of the leaders from the South-west came to my house and brought him (Fubara).

“They (Abiodun and Osoba) said he (Fubara) is ready to make peace, this and that. I said I don’t have a problem if you want to make peace. He (Fubara) has a yam, he has a knife. He said he was travelling. He travelled. I’ve not seen Sim since that day,” he said.

‘I weep in my quiet moments when I remember Fubara’s betrayal’

Mr Wike also said he often weeps whenever he remembers what Mr Fubara did against him.

“When I go back in my quiet moments, I play the video of the speeches of the governor, what he said, what he did to me, I weep,” he said.

Mr Wike served as the governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023 and later helped Mr Fubara to succeed him before both politicians fell out with each other.

During the media chat on Monday, the FCT minister suggested that Mr Fubara allegedly betrayed him after he assumed office as the governor of the oil-rich state.

“This is somebody who brought you, gave you food, gave you everything, did this to you, and then you became a tool for his enemies to fight him,” he stated.

Why Fubara’s betrayal hurts me

Mr Wike, in a bid to show why Mr Fubara’s alleged betrayal hurts him, made an analogy of sacrifices made by parents for their children.

“You know what you go through by sending your son to school? You know what you go through to make him a human being? All of a sudden, in the night, your son came with two people with guns to shoot you. Just tell me, is this something that will just go away like that from your mind?

“You made sure you gave your son good education. You made sure he was provided food, you were ready to sacrifice everything you had, and you made that sacrifice,” he said.

“In the night, they said there are armed robbers; who are the armed robbers? Your son is the one carrying a gun. Your time is up. Somehow, God helped you. You didn’t die. Now people come, carry your son, to come and beg you, you know, he is their son,” Mr Wike added.

The FCT minister accused Mr Fubara of colluding with people who were against his (Fubara) election as governor to attack him (Wike).

“These are people who vowed that you will never be governor. These are people who petitioned you to EFCC.

“These are people who, simply because of envy, (asked) how will they bring Wike down? Then you (Fubara) provided yourself how to bring Wike down,” he said.

Background

The feud between Messrs Fubara and Wike began less than six months after Mr Fubara assumed office as governor.

The feud later split the state’s legislature into two factions, with 27 lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike and three to Mr Fubara.

The governor had recognised the three-member faction because he believed the others “lost” their seats in the assembly since they had “defected” from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

However, the 28 February 2025 Supreme Court judgement tipped the balance of power in favour of Mr Wike and his allies.

On 14 March, the Rivers House of Assembly served a notice of alleged misconduct against Mr Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, as a preliminary step for their impeachment.

In a notice addressed to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, the 26 lawmakers, among other things, accused Mr Fubara of spending Rivers funds without approval from the state assembly and appointing people to run the government without the required screening and confirmation.

The lawmakers also accused Mr Fubara of hindering or obstructing the assembly from its constitutional functions and seizing salaries, allowances, and funds belonging to lawmakers, the clerk, and the assembly.

They accused the Deputy Governor, Mrs Odu, of “conniving and supporting the illegal appointment of persons to occupy offices/positions in the Rivers State Government without allowing for the requirement of screening and confirmation”.

The impeachment plot began about the time Mr Fubara removed the elected chairpersons of the local councils in obedience to the Supreme Court rulings. The governor said he was willing to implement all the Supreme Court’s decisions.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have expressed outrage over the emergency rule in Rivers and the removal of Mr Fubara and other elected officials.