Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike to embrace each other amidst the political crisis in the state.

Jonathan enjoined Governor Fubara and his predecessor, who have since been in a rift, to work together for the development of Rivers State.

The former president made the call at the flag-off of the Trans-Kalabari Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Monday, May 20, 2024.

He expressed worry over incessant battles between governors and their predecessors in Nigeria, saying: “Outgoing governors and incoming governors must know that they work together for the collective interest of the citizens of the state and that is critical.

“In the case of Rivers, Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Fubara must work together to develop the land and people of Rivers State. The tension will not help us.

“So, I urge political actors, you must work together if you love the Rivers people.

3 Wike’s loyalists quit as Fubara’s commissioners

“I join the leaders of Rivers State and well-meaning Nigerians that have been calling for truce and ceasefire to also reemphasise that there is a need for a ceasefire.

“Let us do things that would rather project the state. We are calling on them (Wike and Fubara) to embrace themselves. One hand does not clap. It takes two hands to clap. So, we want them to work together for the collective interest.”

Jonathan, however, described Rivers State as crucial to Nigeria’s development, adding: “Rivers State is the heart of the Niger Delta.

“If River State is destabilised, the whole Niger Delta will be destabilised. It will not end within the Niger Delta alone because I am from this part of the country and I know how the system works and we don’t want any crisis in Rivers State.”

Wike, who is the immediate past governor of Rivers State, has been in a rift with Fubara, leading to a division in the State House of Assembly.

The minister recently described his successor as his mistake, saying he was ready to make corrections at the appropriate time.

The governor had earlier said there was nothing wrong in one helping another person, stressing that does not mean the helper should take the place of God.

Fubara had also declared his readiness to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the administration of Wike in the state.

The Star