8-Points Peace Deal In Review: How Tinubu’s Deal Favoured Wike As Fubara Loses Out

The rift in Rivers State may see a resolution as Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Chief Nyesom Wike, leading the two conflicting factions, opt to embrace a peace deal facilitated by President Bola Tinubu.

In a development at Aso Villa, Abuja, both parties signed an eight-point agreement titled ‘Directives for the resolution of the political impasse in Rivers State.’ This took place shortly after President Tinubu successfully reconciled the governor and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister.

The signatories to this pact include Governor Fubara, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu, National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Speaker Amaewhule, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Aaron Chukwuemeka, and All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee Chairman Chief Tony Okocha.

Former Governor Peter Odili, who has been working towards reconciling the conflicting leaders, was also present at the meeting. This development raises hopes for a return to peace in Rivers State, as both factions commit to the terms outlined in the agreement.

Below are the eight-point peace deal

1. All matters in courts by Fubara and his team shall be withdrawn immediately.
This point can be described as beneficial to both parties because nobody can tell for sure where the legal battle would lead.

2. All impeachment proceedings should be dropped immediately.
This second point can be said to be in favour of Governor Fubara. With this development, Fubara, being a new Governor (first timer), will have more time to work, plan, build and consolidate his hold on power at least for the next three years and some months his first term will last.

3. The House as led by Martin Amaewhule shall be recognised alongside the 27 members who resigned from the PDP.
Wike and his camp won this one. This point favours them beyond just recognising the lawmakers who dumped their party as it also gave them the control of the House of Assembly thereby putting Governor Fubara in a serious check.

4. The remunerations and benefits of all members must be reinstated immediately and the Governor of Rivers State shall henceforth not interfere with the full funding of the Assembly.
Also, the above resolution favoured Wike and his camp as his loyalists would get what they have been demanding. It also means that they did not lose any of their benefits despite the crisis and its consequences.

5. The Assembly shall choose where they want to sit and conduct their legislative business without interference.
By this point, the Wike-backed Speaker and his majority camp (27 lawmakers) have been given the power to decide where they would meet and hold sitting since Governor Fubara-led government pulled down the House of Assembly Complex. On the flip side, they can decide to meet in Wike’s house, the Speaker’s house or in the house of one of their camp members.

6 . Fubara shall re-present the state budget to a properly constituted House.
With the above item in the resolutions, the budget presentation by Governor Fubara has been rendered irrelevant. Earlier, Speaker Amaewhule had dismissed it and described it as a ‘family meeting’. It means that the Governor only wasted his time by presenting it to the Edison Ehie-led House. Wike and his camp won this one.

7. The names of all commissioners who resigned should be resubmitted to the House for approval.
Similarly, Wike and his camp got the advantage going by the provision of this item. All the commissioners that resigned were Wike’s loyalists. Reabsorbing them means that they lost nothing even as it denies Governor Fubara the chance to choose new commissioners who would be loyal to him.

8. There should not be a caretaker committee for the LGAs.
Finally, this point denies Governor Fubara the opportunity to choose caretaker committees and their Chairmen who will be his grassroots allies and mobilizers. Some first-time Governors who succeeded in choosing caretaker committee chairmen became firmly in charge winning their second term election bids despite falling out with their godfathers. Again, this point shows that it is a loss for Governor Fubara and a win for Wike’s camp who opposed the move earlier.