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Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, says the political crisis in the state has taken a huge toll on him and on his family.
Fubara said this last weekend at a thanksgiving service in Opobo, organised to celebrate the supreme court judgment which affirmed his election as governor.
The governor also used the occasion to mark his 49th birthday anniversary.
“I feel heavy in my spirit. It’s not been easy, I can say it,” he said.
“I want to ask a question. When I look at your faces, I see so much excitement, I see happiness. But the question is: am I happy? That is the question. Am I happy?
“Does God give you a gift or a blessing and add sorrow to it?
“A lot of people who started this journey with us ought to have been here with us but unfortunately they are not here. God knows why. You can’t question the almighty. But one thing we can’t take away is that God does not make any mistakes.
“It is a glory to say thank you to God. It gives me extra energy to continue with the battle. It is a battle, but no battle can be bigger than God.”
The governor said the political crisis in the state literally broke him.
“I want to thank my family. They are suffering. That is the truth. They are suffering because of this cause. You just have to be strong and understand that after a while, you will get me back,” Fubara said.
“Maybe, I will take the birthday happiness to make myself happier than I was when I was coming. But in all, I want to ask that you all continue to pray for peace.
“We came in, we were selected because they believe we have something to do for our state. We have not been given the opportunity to do those things that we ought to do.
“We have had a lot of distractions but I strongly believe that while we navigate the part of peace, prayer is also needed for us to pass over this phase.
“We need peace, total peace on all sides so that we can focus and deliver the dividends of democracy. And this victory, I dedicate it to peace.”
THE POLITICAL CRISIS
Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) and immediate past governor of Rivers, and Fubara, his successor, have been embroiled in a struggle for control of the state’s political structure.
The feud between both men sparked a political crisis in the state — one that led to the demolition of the state house of assembly complex.
In the wake of the crisis, Wike’s associates in the Rivers house of assembly commenced impeachment proceedings against the governor.
Fubara’s allies kicked against the impeachment moves.
Thereafter, 27 lawmakers in the state house of assembly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The political crisis also resulted in the resignation of some of Fubara’s cabinet members.
On December 18, the governor and Wike agreed to end the political feud between them after President Bola Tinubu intervened.
Some of the resolutions reached at the meeting were that: All matters instituted in courts by the different factions should be “immediately” withdrawn, the 27 lawmakers who defected to the APC should be taken back as members of the assembly, and the impeachment proceedings against Fubara should be withdrawn.
The 27 lawmakers who signed the impeachment proceedings rescinded the notice against the governor.
The governor has also sworn in the commissioners who resigned from his government.
Last week, the Rivers house of assembly overrode Fubara’s decision not to assent to four bills earlier passed by the lawmakers.
The Rivers assembly is controlled by lawmakers loyal to Wike.
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