As the Supreme Court sets to rule on the Rivers Governorship dispute in January 2024, youths of Rivers state have apologized to President Bola Tinubu over their rejection of the 8-points resolution he brokered.
Last week, Tinubu convened a meeting of stakeholders in Rivers State where he allegedly imposed an 8-point resolution on Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The resolutions gave political control of Rivers state to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike while leaving Fubara politically vulnerable.
Rivers youths took to the street to voice their rejection of the resolutions, while elders of the state vowed to challenge the resolutions in court.
But Fubara, in a broadcast to people of the state on Christmas Day, said the resolution of the president was in good faith. He promised to implement them.
The governor’s broadcast was followed by an apology from the Rivers State Chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria who championed the protest against Tinubu and the 8-points resolution. They apologised to Tinubu over what they described as an “unguarded speech” during the rally.
Chairman of the Council, Chijioke Ihunwo, said the youths were in support of Tinubu’s administration, explaining that the rally was not sponsored by the Rivers State Government against the President as being insinuated in some quarters.
“Mr President, we rendered our unreserved apology to you, if we might have also by our speech as young people during our solidarity walk for the governor, made an unguarded speech,” Ihunwo said.
He added, “The youth has resolved to stand with the governor on his position that no price is too much to pay for peace to be restored in our state.
“We join the governor to commend his excellency, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for his intervention in the peaceful resolution of the political crisis in Rivers state.
“We assure him of our total support in making sure that Rivers state remains peaceful. For peace is priceless and terror is senseless. Our solidarity walk on December 22, 2023, was to show solidarity with the governor and not intend to insult Mr President because we are aware that some individuals want to blackmail the youths of Rivers state that we want to insult Mr President.
“We want to clarify that we massively voted for President Tinubu against all odds during the presidential election. The Rivers youth are in support of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President and we will never do anything that will jeopardise the Renewed Hope Agenda therefore, we call on Mr President that he should give his support to Governor Sim Fubara to govern our state.”
The attempt to placate Tinubu appears to be the fear of a Supreme Court ruling coming up in January 2024 between Fubara and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole.
A chieftain of the APC in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said the acceptance of the presidential peace proclamation by Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, was done pending the ruling of the Supreme Court on Rivers State gubernatorial election.
He said: “Governor Fubara’s acceptance of the resolution is not holistic and serves only as a temporary respite for FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and his circle of voyagers pending the Supreme Court ruling on Rivers State gubernatorial election come January 2024.
“The fact remains that President Tinubu is fully aware those directives can’t be implemented by any sound fellow if not to disgrace Wike and his misguided followers.
“But Governor Fubara acceptance to implement the truce is just a ploy to buy time pending when the Supreme Court decides on the gubernatorial election of the state come January 2024 and if Fubara succeeds, it is then they will know if Fubara will truly implement the worthless directive or not.”
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