Following a twist in the political situation in Rivers State, the Rivers Ijaw Development Forum has called on the former governor of the state, Rufus Ada George, to stop seeking stoking the crisis for whatever gain.

The group, while reacting to a recent open letter by Ada-Goerge and his group of elders to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, urging him to renege on the Presidential Peace Pact, flayed the former governor for what it described as “exploiting Rivers crises for selfish interest.”

The group, in a statement signed by its convener, Tombra Ajagidi, condemned Ada-George and his group, accusing him of fanning the embers of conflict.

Recall that on December 26, Ada-George and company, while reacting to the governor’s Christmas statewide broadcast in an open letter, said the Abuja Peace Pact is constitutionally not implementable, describing it is a death sentence.

But Ajagidi argued that the letter was not borne out of patriotism, but a ploy to exploit the situation for selfish gain.

He said: “How else can one describe such elders, who are only out to escalate and prolong the crisis when the governor has committed himself to peace for the good governance of the state.

“Our attention has been drawn to the letter, dated December 26, 2023, titled, ‘Peace In Galilee,’  and addressed to the governor by a group of Rivers elders, led by Rufus Ada-George, urging the governor to renege on his commitments to peace, as enshrined in his Christmas broadcast to the people of Rivers State.

“We consider the  letter  rather unfortunate, ill-conceived and totally disrespectful to our governor,  who, only the day before, had assured Rivers people of his decision to de-emphasise the crisis, embrace peace and focus on his mandate to improve the welfare of Rivers people.”

He, however, advised the elders to refrain from escalating the crisis in the state, allowing the governor to govern in an atmosphere of peace.