Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration would implement the recommendations of the report submitted to him by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Arson, Killings, and Wanton Destruction of Property at some local government council headquarters on October 7, 2024.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance on Tuesday December 3 when the seven-member commission, led by the Chairman, Justice Ibiwengi Minakiri, submitted four volumes of reports of their investigation and recommendations to him at Government House in Port Harcourt.
The Governor declared that his administration would neither tolerate nor allow such level of violence in the State anymore, saying that it is not profitable nor productive.
He said, “We are not going to be part of any system that would encourage any destruction in this State. And for that reason, we had to inaugurate this commission, so that this commission should look into the remote and immediate causes of this problem.
“And I believe that the recommendations of this commission, with the help of God and the support of everyone, we will make sure that we implement the recommendations.”
“We are going to take it to the next stage. The report will be presented to the Executive Council, and there, we will surely come out with the White paper and with the White Paper. I can assure you, we are going to follow it to the end.
“Nobody is above the law, including me. So, provided what we are doing is within the confines of the law, we will do it with the help of everyone.”
Governor Fubara recalled how, before 2014, a group of persons had ran wild recklessly in the State, burning down court buildings.
He noted that it is such persons, who had recently surfaced with their destructive tendencies, and have extended the violence to local government councils, killing people and destroying government property.
Governor Fubara wondered why somebody would spend so much money to build a structure intended to last as a legacy of the administration but would eventually be part of its destruction in the name of politics.
He clarified that he has never been part of such destructive politics that continue to set the State backwards and frustrate progressive development strides.
Governor Fubara said: “I make bold to say it, I have never been and will never be a party to anything that will bring shame, disgrace, destruction to our dear State.
“It is our State. If it is well with us, it will be well with everybody. As a matter of fact, why should I encourage destruction, when I know that when you finish spoiling things, you still need money to rebuild them.
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“I am an accountant, I know the importance of how we can manage money. Rather than spoil, you should use that money to do a new thing for the State.”
Governor Fubara vowed: “So, I am going to ensure that we put a stop to that level of violence or such unreasonable violence. I call it unreasonable violence because it doesn’t mean anything in politics.
“Politics is a business of interest. There is no permanent friend, no permanent enemy. Some persons who were not even in our support, today, they are here following us because their interest is the most important thing.
“Likewise tomorrow, if the interest changes, they will also go their different ways. So, why burn down the house?”
Governor Fubara thanked members of the commission for being bold, focused, and accomplishing their task with determination in the face of physical and legal threats.
In her presentation, Chairman of the seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry, Justice Ibiwengi Roseline Minakiri, said they had put their findings into four volumes, including the recommendations.
She said, “We have here four volumes of the report. We have the memoranda, which is the memoranda we got after we made our publications.
“We also have the exhibits that came with the memoranda. We have the proceedings and the records. At the end of the day, we came up with the main report.”
Justice Minakiri advised that the recommendations of the report should be studied and implemented so that people can be deterred from such callous acts and the sought-after peace secured for the State.
The Trumpet recalls that most of the star witnesses summoned by the commission during its sitting shunned the invitation including the former governor and FCT minister, Chief Nyesom Wike.
