The crisis in Rivers State has not been resolved because some individuals who are seeking personal gain do not want the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Sim Fubara to reconcile.
National Publicity Secretary of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Ken Robinson made the assertion in an interview with THE WHISTLER.
THE WHISTLER reports that Wike and his successor have been engaged in a battle for supremacy in Rivers State, a development which has led to protracted political crisis in the oil rich state.
Attempts by President Bola Tinubu to broker a peace deal between Wike and Fubara failed, with both parties sticking to their guns.
The crisis has resulted in the factionalization of the Rivers State House of Assembly, with the lawmakers divided into two camps loyal to Wike and Fubara, and led by different Speakers.
However, speaking with THE WHISTLER, Robinson expressed regrets that political leaders across the country are not encouraging a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
According to him, the leaders are not playing a neutral role as should be expected.
Asked to state the position of PANDEF on the crisis, Robinson said, “The national leader of PANDEF (Chief Edwin Clark) has been speaking on the matter, so PANDEF has no other need to speak.
“But the truth of the matter is some of us in PANDEF have different opinions, so we don’t need to express our opinion since the national leader has been speaking.
“Initially what we wanted was to meet with the two parties and make peace but events have overtaken that. The matter has dragged on and unfortunately people have taken sides so it becomes more difficult to resolve.
“The unfortunate aspect of this is that Rivers State is a very rich state so there are a lot of interests. Those for and those against the governor – it is all about interest.
“As Publicity Secretary of PANDEF and as someone from Rivers State, I feel the state has suffered enough over the past 24 years of this democratic dispensation. Perhaps Rivers is the worst state in terms of political crisis, right from Peter Odili down to the present moment and it has affected development in the state negatively.
“So from that perspective we had thought that in the interest of the state, leaders from across the country would have taken a neutral position to see how the two parties would be reconciled. Because, whether we like it or not, if I work for you and you go against me, it will only take maturity and grace to overlook you and allow you to continue.
“In this case now both the Minister of the FCT and the Governor have made it look like there is no room for reconciliation and there are interest groups behind both parties who are also stoking the fire for personal gain to ensure that reconciliation is not discussed.
“Today Rivers State is a place where people would come with different ideas, influence the governor, just for the purpose of getting money from the state.”
Robinson expressed concern that, from the look of things, the crisis cannot be resolved until the 2027 election, when Fubara is expected to seek a second term in office.
“The way it is now, the only solution is who wins in 2027. Likely the crisis will continue in different phases, in different dimensions.”
Reacting to concerns that the crisis will affect governance and development in the state, the PANDEF spokesman noted, “Those are the consequences. Every action has a reaction. People should have weighed all these.”
Going down memory lane, Robinson observed that politics had over the years prevented efforts to forge a united front for the Niger Delta.
Stressing the need for Niger Delta leaders to play a neutral role in the Rivers crisis, Robinson added, “My personal position, realising that efforts have been made in the past until PANDEF, why we have not been able to have a sustained regional body.
“We had the South South Peoples Assembly – it was politics that truncated the organisation and it just fizzled out.
“That was over who should become President, somewhere supporting Peter Odili to be President, some were against him.
“And then the South South Peoples Assembly divided and fizzled out and died. Before then we had the South South Peoples Conference, and it also didn’t last because of this type of interest.
“So drawing from this experience, I thought this time PANDEF would have played a neutral role as an organisation and consistently tried to bring the two parties together to try to resolve the crisis – that’s what I thought.
“And I have expressed this opinion to the leadership of PANDEF, and perhaps that’s why PANDEF has been reluctant to make a categorical statement.
“But the national leader of PANDEF (Clark), in his capacity as former minister, former federal commissioner and former senator, and the respect that he enjoys in the country and the region, has made statements and nobody can go against those statements that he had made as far as PANDEF is concerned.”
