Royal Father Exposes Plans Of Those Fighting Fubara
Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Chike Worlu Wodo has said that those fighting the state governor have only one thing in mind: to distract him and provoke unrest in the state.
He spoke on Monday at the 117th/118th combined quarterly general meeting of the state council of tradition rulers which also has the governor, Sim Fubara Fubara in attendance, during the opening session.
While commending Fubara for maintaining peace in the state in the face of what he called the unwarranted political crisis orchestrated by people he described as selfish and overzealous politicians, Eze Wodo, who is also the paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area urged the governor not to fall into the traps of detractors by confronting their violence with violence.
He said: “All of us know that those that are over-heating the polity have one aim: to make the State ungovernable so as to make it ripe for a declaration of State of Emergency. Please, Sir, advise your supporters to avoid every invitation to violence.
“May I also appeal to our people on all sides of the political divide to remember that we have nowhere else to call home apart from Rivers State. So, we must not allow our personal interest to destroy the peace, stability and growth of our State.”
“As traditional rulers, we owe our State the duty of making it peaceful by cautioning our children against violent acts. We, therefore, cannot caution anybody if we allow ourselves become overly partisan. We will then lose the moral authority to reprimand those causing trouble when we take sides. So, I say, let us all work assiduously to maintain peace in Rivers State.”
While addressing the royal fathers, Fubara charged them to ensure that activities of crude oil theft was checked, as allowing the crime to thrive was affecting the nation’s economy negatively. He advised them to take charge of their domains and ensure that they make life difficult for ill-guided youths involved in acts of economic sabotage in their various communities.
He said: “I want to see a different society from this hour. The federal government is doing everything to see that our crude oil production level increases. But every day, we are having issues of illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalisation and all the associated problems.
“All these people that are carrying out these evil acts, they’re not coming from the moon, they live in our communities, we know them. I am charging this council, as a first step, take charge of your communities.
“If there is any information that you need to share with us, share with us. In the overall, we need our country to progress. We need our country to be stable. We need our country to grow economically. It is through only one means: our oil production.”
He added: “We are charging you, to please go back and take charge of your communities. I assure you of our support. If there is anything that we need to do, if it means government sending you some little support financially to create your own vigilante to help, we will do it.”
He also spoke on the circumstances that led to the removal of the former chairman of the council, saying “there is nothing new that has happened. The immediate past chairman served out his tenure, and the tenure is usually a one year duration.
“It is at the discretion of the Governor to extend such tenure. I believe, from my own assessment, there was no reason to extend it, but rather to bring in fresh blood that can bring the council together.
“And what we did, we did in good faith because our communities, our people are important to us. I want to commend the chairman who is barely three months in office, to have been able to put this meeting together; it shows leadership.
“I want you to lead this council with the fear of God. I want you to lead this council with the understanding that you are dealing with people that are independent, and feeding their own families.
“So, you need to have a spirit and heart of accommodation and tolerate them. Make your point very straight when you talk to them. I strongly believe that they are matured enough to give you the required support.”
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Charles Amadi, noted with concern the disturbing development and progressive degradation of values in the various communities, requiring focused attention on the roles of the traditional rulers in Rivers State.
He said there has been hope all along that traditional rulers in the State will pull their various domains through with tenable innovations that will stem the dwindling social decay in the various communities.
