With the Sword of Damocles hanging over the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the political impasse in oil-rich Rivers State is far from over despite reassurance from gladiators on the festering crisis that has defied presidential intervention.
    
While Fubara reiterated his earlier assurance yesterday that his administration will implement, to its fullest, the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the political crisis in the state, the president, in a closed-door meeting with Niger Delta leaders, also emphasised the need for adherence to the rule of law in Rivers to ensure lasting peace and prosperity but added that the matter has gone beyond him after past interventions failed to resolve the crisis.
   
However, the present danger persists with the governor having to account for his actions in the last one year before the newly recognized Rivers State House of Assembly.
   
President Bola Tinubu, addressing political leaders from the South-South in Abuja, yesterday, during a meeting with representatives and leaders of the Niger Delta under the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), reiterated that respect for the judiciary is crucial in upholding democracy and fostering harmony.
   
Speaking on the Rivers crisis, his efforts privately and publicly to forge peace in the state, Tinubu said: “I foresaw the problem we have today festering for too long before I intervened. Yes, Niger Delta is the goose that lays the golden egg. We must care for the goose; otherwise, we lose the golden egg. I got your signal and your concern, particularly on Rivers State. I have been on the issue for quite some time. 
   
“I called both parties together, we reached an agreement, a written agreement which everyone in attendance signed but what happened after? I said, go back home and implement the recommendations within the shortest possible time, I told the governor, I put the ball back in your court. Privatively and openly, I have intervened and counselled the governor to pursue the path of peace and stoop to conquer but he decided otherwise.”
   
In his submission, the president told the PANDEF elders to go back home and work for peace, in compliance with the rule of law. The president said stakeholders must make sacrifices for the state to move forward by recognising the Constitution. “This is a nation of rule of law. I should not be here as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if there is no rule of law. I have total confidence in our judiciary.  
 
 “Go back home and take charge of peace. If you need me, let me know. I have given the situation enough time and enough consideration. We cannot fall back, and we will not. The people of Rivers State will not suffer because of democracy. We worked together on it. They will not suffer. They must be protected,” President Tinubu said.
   
King Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff, Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass Kingdom and Co-Chairman of the PANDEF Board of Trustees, thanked the President for his commitment to South-South well-being and appointments given to Niger Delta indigenes.
   
Obong Victor Attah, former governor of Akwa Ibom State and co-chair of the PANDEF Board of Trustees, called for further intervention in the Rivers State crises. Attah, who also chairs the reconciliation committee set up by PANDEF in Rivers State, said the political crises in Rivers State threaten national stability and deserve more attention.
   
The PANDEF delegation included former governors, legislators, ministers, traditional leaders, religious figures, and youth and women groups. Coming out of the meeting with President Tinubu, the leaders declined to speak to journalists as they were hurriedly ushered into a coaster bus that drove them out of the Aso Villa.
   
The situation in Rivers is particularly tense, with Fubara, an Ijaw man, facing off against his estranged godfather, Nyesom Wike, an Ikwerre man and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Some Ijaw groups have even threatened to take up arms if the State House of Assembly, dominated by Wike’s loyalists, proceed with plans to impeach Fubara.
 
EXPECTEDELY, Fubara has confessed that the past 16 months have not been easy for him as governor of Rivers State. His confession comes on the heels of significant pressure during this period, trying to manage the affairs of the state as the number one citizen and facing opposition from his godfather, Nyesom Wike, and his supporters.
   
Fubara made the confession during the inauguration of the new Judges’ Quarters, a housing facility completed by his administration for judges indigenous to Rivers State by birth or marriage, at Old GRA in Port Harcourt. He maintained that the protection of the interests of Rivers State is paramount, above whatever personal interest anyone could hold or canvass.
   
He said that his administration will fully implement the recent judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the political crisis in the State.
   
The Governor explained: “It has not been an easy 16 months, but what is important is the interest of our State, which must be above our personal interests. I want to say it here, very loud and clear to everyone: the Supreme Court has given a judgment, and my administration is going to implement the judgment to its fullest. The reason is clear: It is not about me; it is about the good of this state.”
   
Alluding to the quantum of loss in terms of money expended in prosecuting the political crisis on both sides, the governor described the situation as regrettable.
Such financial resources and other efforts, he said, would be more profitable if synergised and channelled towards promoting the genuine well-being and good of the state, adding that a more reassuring outcome could have been showcased.
   
Fubara stated: “Thank God where we are today, I can assure you publicly that, any day, any time, I have not gone back on my statement: that nothing (no price) is too big to pay for peace in this state, because, at the end of the day, it is about our people. It is not about me, I will leave office, but the good work that I have done will speak for me and will defend my generation.”
   
This is as supporters of the governor under the aegis of the National Supreme Council for Sim Worldwide vowed that the governor will not be impeached, stating that he is not incapacitated and has not also violated any law to warrant such a call.
   
The group has therefore, challenged the Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state who on Monday, ordered the governor to resign or be impeached to tell the world why the governor should be impeached. 
   
According to the convener of the group, Joshua Fubara, those calling for the governor’s impeachment should go and sleep because ‘it can’t work’ as they are already thinking and planning for his second term re-election. 
   
“How can anyone call for Governor Fubara’s resignation let alone impeachment? His achievements alone stand him out miles ahead of other governors. From the promotion of civil servants after 10 years to payment of pensioners, increase in workers’ salaries.”
   
Also, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has commended Fubara for extending an olive branch to pro-Wike lawmakers. The group noted that by inviting them to a meeting, which was declined on Monday, Fubara has demonstrated his commitment to democracy and peace.
    
HURIWA National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, emphasized that the citizens of Rivers deserve good governance, which can only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace, stability, and security. He urged the Hon. Martins Amaaewhule-led members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to accept the Governor’s peace overtures, stressing that political crises benefit no one.
   
Renowned human rights activist and environmentalist, Annkio Briggs, has decried the challenges facing Fubara, stating that he has not been allowed to govern effectively for the past two years. Briggs, speaking on the ongoing political turmoil in the state, during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, emphasised that despite Fubara’s commitment to peace and adherence to the law, he has faced continuous obstacles that have hindered his administration.
   
“For two years, this governor has not been allowed to govern at all, and he has two years left before his next election comes up,” she said.
   
She further criticised the influence of Wike over the state’s affairs, insisting that Fubara should not be subject to the control of his predecessor.
   
“I don’t believe that Governor Siminalayi Fubara should be at the mercy of the past governor of Rivers State,” Briggs asserted.
   
She defended Fubara’s leadership style, noting that his peaceful approach should not be mistaken for weakness. 
  
“He has stated repeatedly that he will not run afoul of the law. So far, we have to be fair to him—he has not purposefully disobeyed any court ruling. That should not give the impression that he is a weak person or that the people of Rivers State do not know what they want,” she added.
 
MEANWHILE, the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, has condemned the plot to cause ethnic division in the state, saying the House would not allow it. Amaewhule insisted that Rivers had gone beyond ethnic narratives and would not return to the past vowing that the lawmakers would continue to push for the unity, peace and progress of the state.
   
The Speaker, spoke when he received a delegation of politicians, who came to pay him a solidarity visit led by the Director, Finance and Administration, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Boma Iyaye.
   
He said the Supreme Court judgment did not come to them as a surprise because according to him the House had conducted its affairs within the ambit of the constitution and the law governing Rivers.
   
Amaewhule said: “What this country and our state truly deserve is the adherence to the rule of law and the dividends of democracy to our people through proper leadership. That is what we stand for. We were expecting their judgement because we know we have been conscious of our constitution. 
 
“We will not let anybody or group of persons divide this state and take us back to where we were several years ago. Rivers has moved forward to the point where we see ourselves as brothers. Where you come from should be behind. We want Rivers to be a united and progressive state with all of us working together not minding our ethnic origin. It is important. If we begin to use where we come from to divide the state, it won’t help anybody”.