S/South Youths Demand Wike’s Sack Over Rivers Crisis
Edith CHUKU
National President of the South South Youth Initiative SSYI, Mr Oscar Saviour Imeabe, has accused the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, of been responsible for the devastating crisis in Rivers State.
Imeabe stated this in an interview on Wednesday, where he expressed worry over the hardship, impoverishment and unemployment rocking the state.
He urged Tinubu to as a matter of urgency, withdraw the state of emergency declared in the state.
The youth leader also asked the president to immediately sack Wike, the FCT Minister who he said has brought more harm than good to the people of his state.
On the Trans Niger Pipeline fire outbreak that occured in Bodo community, Gokana LGA and the ONELGA pipeline explosion, Imaebe, who is also the Public Relations Officer of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People MOSOP, expressed the belief that the ex-militant groups may not be responsible for it.
He said, “with the current political crisis that is taking place in Rivers State, I seriously won’t like to attribute the recent pipeline explosions in Rivers State or Niger Delta to the ethnic nationalities or the ex-militant groups that actually made some threats.
“Alot of youths have made some threats, some NGOs and civil society organisations also made threats, but none of these is attributed or related to the recent explosion that has been taken place.
“Going by what happened in Bodo yesterday, I can boldly say that the explosion that took place in Bodo was a calculated attempt by Mr President and Nyesom Wike to call for a state of emergency in Rivers State. An explosion took place in Kalabari, it took more than two months to stop the fire, till today, it took months to stop the fire but the Bodo explosion in Trans Niger Pipeline, it was just five minutes that Shell arrived that vicinity that the fire was stopped.”
SSYI president insisted that though the explosion was devastating and had negative impact on the state but that it should be thoroughly investigated and not attributed to the threats made by ex-militants, CBOs, youth groups nor pressure groups in the state or Niger Delta.
His words, “it is obvious that the enemies of Rivers State can also take undue advantage of this particular circumstance, just like the state of emergency can also be a litmus test for what has happened.
“Was there any need for the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State? Go to Borno State where people are visiting. I can also recall vividly when the life of Hope Uzodinma was threatened, some hoodlums got into his house, attacked his private and official vehicles yet, state of emergency was not declared on Imo State even when governor’s life was threatened, even here in Niger Delta, alot have happened but state of emergency was not declared.”
Speaking on the governor, Siminalayi Fubara’s suspension, he said, “if Tinubu is fair about suspending the governor, why didn’t he go further to suspend the perpetrator of the crisis that is taking place in the state, like Nyesom Wike, why did he refuse to suspend the FCT Minister.
“Several calls have been made in Asaba, Warri, Bayelsa and on the East-West Road, people protested, calling on Mr president to sack the FCT Minister but he didn’t see the need.
“I want to say that Mr president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nyesom Wike the FCT Minister are responsible for this level of devastation and negative impact that we are getting on what is going on in Rivers State and it’s so sad. Mr president has caused us alot of economic hardship and he is giving us more hardship.
“How can an elected democratic president suspend a democratically elected governor? He does not have the constitutional power to suspend a democratic elected governor, you don’t have.”
Sending an SOS to the president, Imeabe who described Fubara’s suspension as sad and unacceptable charged Tinubu to, “with immediate effect, cancel, withdraw the state of emergency that you declared in Rivers State and with immediate effect sack the FCT Minister because he has been responsible for the crisis we are having here.”
He further appealed to the youths of the state to remain calm and peaceful.
