Kehinde Fajobi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ruled out the possibility of resolving his dispute with Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara, accusing the governor and his allies of failing to honour directives from President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Sunday, Wike criticised Fubara’s camp for not implementing Tinubu’s instructions issued during a peace meeting.
He said, “I’m wondering, what conflict to resolve? Mr President, in his wisdom, called all parties. He said ‘This is the problem, and I want this problem to be resolved. Withdraw the impeachment notice. You go and do this; you go and do that, and everybody agreed with it.’”
Wike recounted that the Rivers State Assembly complied by withdrawing an impeachment notice against Fubara, but other parts of the agreement were not followed.
“The Assembly withdrew the impeachment notice; you did one and two, and then you sent people to go to court. Elder, have you gone back to Mr President to tell him this assignment you gave us?
“We’ve done one and two, but we can’t do three and four. Mr President, can you call us back to see whether we can find a solution to three and four since one and two have been executed?”
Wike expressed disbelief at Fubara’s approach. “I have never seen this in my life—for a president to call parties, and one party goes back and says it’s political, not binding and unconstitutional. Who does that?”
The conflict, which emerged months after Fubara’s inauguration, is reportedly tied to control of the state’s political resources.
Despite efforts to resolve the feud, including an eight-point peace deal brokered by Tinubu in 2023, the agreement broke down. Fubara later claimed he was pressured into signing the deal.
Wike maintained that any resolution would require Fubara and his allies to return to Tinubu to explain their inability to fulfil all aspects of the president’s directive.