By Dennis Naku
Suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has appealed to his supporters to accept a new peace deal between him and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
According to the governor, he is willing to make a heavy sacrifice for a total peace in the state.
He spoke while addressing his supporters known as the Simplified Family in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
The governor said, “We have fought. I think, in my own assessment and in the assessment of anyone here who is genuine in this struggle, you will know that we have done what we need to do. At this point, if you want to be truthful to yourself, the only solution is peace. I did say that there’s no price that is too big for peace — I meant it, and I’m still ready to follow it to the end.
“Nobody can take away the role Wike, played. Nobody can wish away the risk he took. Yes, at a point we had our differences and if today there’s need for us to settle, please, anyone who genuinely believes in me should understand that it’s the right thing to do.
“So, my dear fathers, brothers and sisters, no matter the level of peace that a mediator will arrange, the true peace is the one where both of you are sitting down together to say, “Yes, this is what we want. We know the progress we would have recorded and the areas that would have been developed. So, there’s need for this peace, that’s the truth.”
He assured his supporters that he would not abandon them for any reason.
“I can’t abandon you people, that’s one thing I need to say here. This is the time for me to prove to you that I care for you, and I make my commitment here that whichever way it goes, I will not abandon anybody.”
But the sacrifice that we are going to make for us to achieve this total peace is going to be heavy, and I want everybody to prepare for it.
“Without a total reconciliation, which, by the grace of God, the both of us have gotten to — there’s no way we can make progress in this state. There’s no way the President can come in to save the situation. So, I want to appeal to everyone, I have accepted that we must accept this peace, no matter how it looks, no matter how you feel, we must accept it, he said.
Fubara spoke barely two days after he and met with Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
The closed-door meeting, held on Thursday, was reportedly part of ongoing efforts by the President to quell the prolonged political crisis rocking Rivers State.
