The uproar has exploded again in Rivers State over leaked details of a peace accord allegedly made in Aso Rock between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Protests have been reported around the avenue leading to the seat of power in Port Harcourt by groups asking the governor not to accept the peace terms.
Wike is the former governor of Rivers State.
The ‘peace accord’ seemed to alarm the Fubara camp as they said all the peace terms favoured Wike. They thus said the resolutions were a trap.
At first, the Fubara camp suspected the governor’s signature was forged, but they seemed more confused after many inquiries.
One of the top persons in Fubara’s camp told BusinessDay: “I am curious, honestly. Although I haven’t spoken with the governor, I wonder why the signatures of the Governor and his deputy seem like photocopies while those of Nyesom Wike and the NSA (National Security Adviser) are in original red ink. Is this the original document that was signed?
If not, where is the original? Governors sign in red, and the speaker (as insisted by his faction), Rt Hon Amaewhule, will normally sign in green. His is also photocopied. If it is a peace accord, How come Rt. Hon. Eddison Ehie (the speaker of the other faction) was absent from the meeting.
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“Even more curious, what was the place of Tony Okocha, APC Rivers Caretaker Committee chair, at the meeting? Rumours were that Peter Odili was present at this meeting. He has been known to be deeply concerned and working to resolve this matter along with former governor HE Rufus Ada George, former Dy Gov Alabo Gabriel Toby, and other Rivers State elders and thought leaders. So, where is Odili’s signature if he was at the meeting? If he was not, how so?
“Recall that Odili and Tinubu belong to the Class of 1999 governors, and that group share a special and unique bond. All these contradictions leave the Rivers people puzzled and wondering.”
Calls have been rife asking Gov Fubara to own up or disown the Aso Rock Peace Agreement.
Below is the key information in the allegedly agreed document.
1. All matters instituted in the courts by the Governor of Rivers State,
Fubara and his team, concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, shall be withdrawn immediately.
2. All impeachment proceedings initiated against the Governor of Rivers State by the Rivers State House of Assembly should be dropped immediately
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3. The leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as led by the Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule shall be recognized alongside the 27 members who resigned from the PDP
4. The remunerations and benefits of all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and their staff must be reinstated immediately, and the Governor of Rivers State shall henceforth not interfere with the full funding of the Rivers State House of Assembly
5. The House of Assembly shall choose where they want to sit and conduct their legislative business without interference and hindrance from the Executive arm of the government.
6. The Governor shall re-present the state budget to a properly constituted Rivers State House of Assembly
7. The names of all commissioners in the Executive Council who resigned their appointments because of the political crisis in the state should be resubmitted to the House of Assembly for approval
8. There should not be a caretaker committee for the local governments in Rivers State. The dissolution of the Local Government administration is null and void and shall not be recognized.
Gov Fubara seems to allude to the peace terms, saying no price was too much to pay for peace. He spoke at the convocation ceremony of the PAMO University, owned by Odili and his wife, Mary.
