Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has defended the peace deal initiated by President Bola Tinubu between him and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, amid warnings from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against implementing the agreement without the party’s input.
In a broadcast on Christmas Day, Governor Fubara emphasized that the peace resolution brokered by President Tinubu was not a death sentence but a pathway to lasting peace in the state. He committed to implementing the agreement in a manner that would restore political stability without compromising the collective interest of the people.
The peace pact, signed on December 18, followed the defection of 27 members of the state House of Assembly from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP, despite joining a lawsuit seeking to declare vacant the seats of the defected lawmakers, warned Governor Fubara against implementing the agreement without the party’s consent.
However, Governor Fubara confirmed the withdrawal of the purported impeachment notice against the lawmakers who defected, and he released their allowances. He expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his intervention, pledging a commitment to implementing the peace agreement while assuring the people of Rivers State that their interests would not be jeopardized.
In response, the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) cautioned Governor Fubara, stating that the peace pact’s implementation would be morally right but politically incorrect. The PDP emphasized that the party would not allow itself to be dragged into a situation that could threaten democracy and national security. Former PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus also urged stakeholders to ensure genuine, unbiased, and generally acceptable reconciliation in resolving the political crisis in Rivers State.
The situation underscores the delicate balance between political resolutions and constitutional principles, with the governor caught between implementing a peace agreement and adhering to party interests.
