Wike Denies Seeking Tinubu’s Involvement In Resolving Rivers Crisis

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stated that he did not invite or ask President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the political crisis rocking Rivers State.

While addressing a congregation on Sunday during a thanksgiving ceremony for the immediate past Commissioner for Works in Rivers State, George Kelly Alabo, at the Kings’ Assembly in Port Harcourt, the state capital, Wike said it was the residents of the state and Nigerians who called on the President to interfere and intervene in the political impasse.

Wike stated that now that the president has intervened in the crisis, some Nigerians are criticising his decision and saying that he does not have the same constitutional power to intervene in the issue.

Addressing the congregation during the event, Wike said, “If you go and pull the ladder you used to climb up, when you are coming down, if the ladder is pulled down, I don’t know how you will come down. 

“I pray for the church to continue praying for us and let us be firm. We must thank Mr President for interfering and intervening but I was not the one who invited Mr President. You people are the ones – President, intervene. The President has now intervened, he has no constitutional power. 

“You are the ones who said that the President should intervene and the President has intervened to bring peace.

“You now turned around to say he does not have the constitutional power. No matter what circumstances, if the President invites me to a meeting and tells me to do something, within 24 hours I will carry it out because not only as President, I have subjected myself to the peace process and if you ask.”

He added, “Some of us do not even know that Mr. President had invited us privately and said do this, do this, do this. And you agreed before Mr. President and you didn’t do it. And President now said, ‘Okay, the larger state, come.’ We must tell our people the simple truth, I have done my own part and I am happy and I am doing well in Abuja too.”

The political impasse between Wike and Fubara saw the bombing of the State House of Assembly and the splitting of lawmakers in the House with 27 of them decamping from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The feud also saw the emergence of parallel sittings, an impeachment plot against the governor, the demolition of the Assembly complex, and a gale of resignations of pro-Wike commissioners in Fubara’s cabinet.

Following calls by some Nigerians, President Tinubu recently met with Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Wike and some political stakeholders in the State House to resolve the political tension in the South-South state.

At the end of the meeting, which lasted for three hours, a truce was reached and resolutions were made to resolve the political crisis in the state.