Are Fubara, Wike in fresh reconciliation attempt as Tinubu wades in?

…It only belongs to the realm of speculation – Tony Okocha

When Ogoni leaders gathered in Abuja on the behest of the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, something happened that took all eyes away from Ogoni. It was the clips of two very antagonistic political leaders of Rivers State; sitting governor Sim Fubara and former governor Nyesom Wike.

All eyes were on both men who seem to be in fight to fish to control the political structure in the state. This was following the viral report last Tuesday that President Tinubu used the opportunity of meeting with Ogoni leaders and both men at Abuja to once again mediate on the political impasse between Wike and Fubara. Many ask if the war has ended following some smiles on both faces.

The nation may be hopeful but no man or woman in Rivers State believes that any reconciliation bug is biting.

The man who should know more than anyone else, Tony Okocha, a Wike diehard and state chairman of one of the contending factions of the APC, told BusinessDay: “It could be at the realm of speculation. But reconciliation wasn’t the reason for the meeting.”

Those who do not believe reconciliation is on the card point to the latest interview by Wike when he recently visited the state and the bile in it, saying such mind cannot yield to reconciliation early.

Another source said the fight is over political survival through ownership of the structure that produces governors. It is believed that whoever negotiates it away for sake of peace would be committing outright suicide.

A female source whose principal attended the meeting in Abuja hinted that there was no single positive energy between both men in Abuja to show that something is cooking. The source said most persons were telling Fubara to beware of the ‘night of long knives’.

Others said that God has saved Rivers State and it would dangerous to return to Egypt because reconciliation would mean returning the state’s treasury to the control of individuals. Some said prayers have already started in earnest against any move to hand back the state to wrong camps.

Read also: Renewed hope for Ogoni as Tinubu makes fresh moves

Kate Mgbor, an APC woman leader and pensioner who said she suffered much in the eight years of Wike over unpaid pension wrote an open advice on facebook thus: “Dear Governor Fubara, please be careful. The people you are dealing with are old (unprintable word). Please, don’t sleep and close your eyes ooh! They foresaw their imminent failure and they have started to adopt other tactics, setting traps for you to fall into. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled. If you do, you will be disappointing 200 million Nigerians who have given you their support and are still giving. Please, do not disappoint God. Be careful about this new strategy of 2027 election. Be advised.”

On his own, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, Executive Director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre – Nigeria (YEAC-Nigeria), told BusinessDay: “Smiling on camera is mere window dressing. No love is lost between those men. Reconciliation is not in sight.

“Recent media chat by Wike is full of bile and bite against the governor. Only Wike and Fubara can resolve their issue because they alone know what they agreed on before power handover.

“The sitting governor may have discovered he cannot implement them again; the former governor is seeing it as betrayal. So, smiling on camera at Abuja during Ogoni meeting does not suggest any reconciliation. Such is still very far.”