Wike loyalist confirms Fubara signed Rivers agreement in Abuja

The document conveying an eight-point agreement between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Gov Sim Fubara of Rivers State is authentic, the man who now calls the shots in the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tony Okocha, has said.

The national chairman of the APC appointed Okocha to head a caretaker committee after they dissolved the Rivers State Executive Council of the party, which was believed to be loyal to former minister and governor of the state, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

The ‘agreement’ has attracted uproar and deafening condemnation across the state and has been dubbed fake. Many said the signature of Gov Fubara was not in red as it should be, while others said the signature of the silent godfather of them all, Peter Odili, was not there.

Most others, however, rejected the ‘agreement’ on the grounds of being lopsided in favour of Wike and a setup of Gov Fubara for eventual impeachment.

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Reacting in a chat with BusinessDay, Okocha, a diehard Wike loyalist who has replaced an Amaechi loyalist as the Rivers State Representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chukwudi Dimkpa, said he was present at the meeting and that the document is not fake.

He said: “I was there. All you have read in the media vis-à-vis Mr President’s proclamation is true. All of us (Gov Sim, Deputy Governor Ngozi Ordu, Martins Amaewhule, Aaron Chukwuemeka, new PDP chairman, Tony Okocha APC chairman, HE Wike, Nuhu Ribadu and the 26 other Rivers House of Assembly members were there).”

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Some others have, however, wondered why Okocha was allowed into the meeting. The presence of the PDP chairman seems to justify the inclusion of the APC chairman, though his emergence as caretaker chair is being challenged in court.

The wind seemed to have been taken out of the protests against the Aso Rock agreement by a solemn admission by Gov Fubara on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at the PAMO University convocation, where he said he was ready to pay any price for peace in Rivers State. This seemed to seal the disputes over that agreement, except the pressure now mounted by various groups forces the governor to develop cold feet and probably rescind the deal.