Members of the Nigerian Senate have urged Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State not to relent in sustaining peace in the state.
The lawmakers of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation led by Senator Orji Kalu made the call during a working visit to the state at the Port Harcourt Government House on Wednesday.
Reacting to the political crisis rocking the state as a result of the expiration of the tenure of local government chairmen in the state, the committee led by Kalu, urged the governor to continue to exercise restraint in the overall interest of peace and progress in the state.
Promising to make efforts to foster peace in the state, Kalu expressed the plan of the Senators and himself to reach out to President Tinubu and the former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, who is also the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the Abia-North Senator, both the governor and his predecessor should be focused on promoting economic growth and improving the living standards of the citizens.
He said; “We are in your state to oversee some of our projects and we believe that as a committee it will be nice to pay a courtesy call.
“We know that politics has taken its shape and we commend you for what you are doing for the people of your state and ask you to focus on the job.
“Leadership is a very big burden, it’s not sweet potatoes. I will like to plead with you and the former governor to have the uttermost interest of the people at heart.
“Personally, I am going to plead with Mr. President again to see how they can intervene. Politicians should not take the democratic process for granted.
“We should not derail democracy but support it. If we don’t support democracy, it will collapse. On the streets, people were protesting but you have asked your people not to protest, we plead with you to continue to hold your people.
“Please abide by the rules of the land. I plead with you to abide by the constitution and judiciary, wait for the judiciary’s interpretation and act on it.
“We are nonpartisan, we should all focus on economic growth, people are suffering and can’t feed well and prices of items are going up. So we cannot keep protesting over political issues.
In his response the governor assured of his commitment to sustain peace in the state. He added that despite the avalanche of insults and intimidations meted out to himself and his supporters, he will continue to maintain law and order in the state.
Fubara maintained that he is focused on delivering his electoral promises, adding that the protests were mere distractions.
Referring to the incident of dynamite explosion during a protest by supporters of former local government chairmen, the governor said God destroyed the plans of those behind the evil plot.
He urged the lawmakers to address the root cause of the problem while assuring that he’ll continue to resist provocations and intimidations.
Fubara maintained that the expiration of the tenure of the former local government chairmen was in tandem with the constitution.
“In our state today, we are no longer doing party, we are doing a movement. The party has failed us here so what we are doing is to stand with our two legs fitted on the soil of Rivers State and defend democracy.
“Ordinarily I don’t like talking in public about issues in the state but because the chairman of the committee has mentioned it, I will say some few things to set the records straight and correct.
“The situation we find ourselves in today is known by all of us and we all know the cause of it. Where on earth can the tenure of a local government chairman be elongated? Even those of you who are Senators here, does this happen in your own state?
“Is it that the constitution that governs Nigeria is different from the one that operates in Rivers State? Those are the pertinent questions that we should ask. Why is it that when it comes to Rivers State, the law is always silent or is it that there is someone bigger than Nigeria?
“I know everything that is happening. Yesterday when they heard that you were here, there was an attempt to blow up the Presidential Hotel with dynamite, but by God’s grace the explosive blew up the hands of the perpetrator.
“…So that by this time tomorrow, the person who asked you people not to come will raise an alarm for a State of Emergency. We know everything that is happening and you know it, we should be bold enough to look at the face of the person and tell him the truth. I am not fighting anybody. If I start fighting, people will know that I am fighting.
“What we are doing is to defend ourselves. So far it’s only a tree that will stand and someone will come and chop it off, not a human being. I am not fighting anybody.
“I don’t own life, only God owns life. What we are doing here is to serve the people of Rivers State and it doesn’t matter the channel the opportunity came from but the most important thing is God and nobody takes the place of God in anything.
“I can also say here that in this Federal Republic of Nigeria, I don’t think there is any governor who can take 10 percent of what I have tolerated in this state.
“I am the only governor that a local government chairman will insult. You all see it and I know that people at the end of the day will not look at the fight but what did he achieve, I know that all these fights are mere distractions but I need to make sure I deliver no matter how challenging the situation is.
“Let me thank you for this visit. We also appeal to you that any Privatisation and Commercialisation that has to do with our own state that Rivers State will be interested in because you can’t come here and own our property when we have the resources to own shares or to acquire some portion of it, let the committee let us know if there are any properties so that we can move in.
“It is only when we own it that is when those things are protected, that is when those things become viable to the state and to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I wish you all a wonderful stay,” Fubara said.
The Sun