The state Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State Tony Okocha without mincing word had held on a National Television that the political crisis in River state since 2024 would persist in 2025, simply because non of the party’s involved is ready to sheath his sword.
Newsconnect reports that on a breakfast show dubbed The Morning Show on Arise News on Tuesday 7th of January 2025, one of the anchor Dr Reuben Abati had asked if there is possibility of putting a halt to the disagreement between the incumbent Governor of river state Similaye Fubara and the current Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Dr Nyesom Wike so that attention can be focused on governance in the state.
In his reaction, the state Chairman of APC in the state, Tony said;
“I do not see river state come out of this quagmire in 2025. The yuletide season provided even enemies the opportunities to pay visit to one another and resolve their issues.
“The Governor of River state and his immediate benefactor could not have been enemies, even if they were, it was time to exchange conviviality, exchange of goodwill.
“A congratulation on his birthday won’t take him anything. A Governor who is willing for peace can just drive to the Minister’s house or anybody else on a solidarity visit on Christmas day. Nobody will chase the governor away if he did so. Instead of doing so, he is sending brimstone and fire”.
With regards to the Christmas message which River state political leader and former Governor of River state purportedly made to thank Fubara for taming Wike ‘excesses’ in river state, one of the anchor of the program Ayo Mario Ese asked Tony that since one person must be wrong in the matter, is it out of place for Sir Peter Odili to say it as it is having carefully deliberated and intervened on the matter ?
Tony said;
“If am to Interprete what the FCT minister said, The FCT minister mainly said to our leader Dr Peter Odili that you are a father and the role of a father is not to take sides when your children are having disagreement.
“It was overreaching for the former governor, the man that we respected so much in river state, he draws some measure of pride to the state. He introduced the resource control cap. He has carried that aura along for a long while Wike has been very fair to him by the things they are now all trying to reveal.
“How about the President whose hands are tight but still avail the time to call a meeting, a parley we are all there in that meeting. Odili was there with all due respect to him.
“After all the counsels of Mr President and everybody has spoken , when the President brought the 8 point agenda, he did not read it himself, he deferred to his colleague Odili.
“While he was Governor of Lagos State, Odili was governor of River State. He gave him the script to read. Every paragraphs that were read, the president interjected and ask do we all agree, and we said yes.
“He didn’t reach out to Mr President the part he has played to bring peace and stability and to ask for further support after that meeting. He didn’t invite the President the second time to say how do we tinker with this, he just took side.
“Your children are fighting and on Xmas what you can say is thank you for taming this man”.
“Look at it critically I haven’t seen Wike in whatever guise in that statement trying to disparage Peter Odili, the former governor of river state. What he said in depth and critically for anybody looking at it devoid of sentiment, devoid of passion”
Wike is adamant that he won’t apologize. He is not accountable to his former leader, he is not accountable to the elders of river state.
Tony said: “I wish you were here. Elders have lost their voices , in fact the incumbent Governor said rivers do not have elders. We in the opposition took him on at that time”. Tony said
Wike had posited with innuendo that someone is converting river state to his personal Estate. The man who is converting river state to his personal Estate is you. You are now the General overseer.