Former Rivers State governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has been given warning over renewed tension in the state.
In a fresh development, the Coalition of Minority and Ethnic Groups in Nigeria (COMEG) has urged Wike to respect the terms of a peace accord brokered by President Bola Tinubu.
The group’s leader, Dan Okwa, who held a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, said the recent targeting of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s allies – particularly the planned arraignment of Chief of Staff Edison Ehie for arson – undermines the spirit of the agreement and risks reigniting tensions in the state.
“We strongly believe the peace accord should not be one-sided,” Okwa said. “Our concern stems from the recent use of the judiciary to seemingly undermine the state governor.”
COMEG called on the federal government to withdraw all charges against Ehie and other Fubara associates, arguing that Governor Fubara has extended key positions to Wike’s supporters, and pursuing legal action against his camp disrupts the accord’s intended balance.
“Hounding them with the judiciary of federal institutions will only cause fresh provocations that make a mockery of the efforts that President Tinubu has put into restoring peace to that part of the country,” Okwa cautioned.
While acknowledging Fubara’s adherence to the accord, COMEG urged him and his team to maintain their restraint, expressing hope that Wike’s camp will eventually follow suit.
“We appeal to Governor Fubara and his camp to continue to abide by the terms of the accord in the belief that the Wike’s camp will come around. The country cannot afford a meltdown in Rivers State now and at any other time,” Okwa stated.
