Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has reiterated the need for Nigeria to remain as one, indivisible and united nation, saying the government and people of Rivers will not be part of agitation to break up the country.
Speaking Tuesday at the Sultan’s Palace when he led a high-powered delegation of traditional rulers and leaders of thought from Rivers to a sallah visit to Sokoto, Wike said every nation in the world has its peculiar challenges, as such the onus on the leaders of Nigeria is to find lasting solutions to the various challenges confronting the nation.
He said there are better ways to solve the agitations and problems facing Nigeria, rather than a pondering on a break up.
“Rivers state and its people believe in the oneness and unity of Nigeria and that is our stand. In Sokoto, we have a father in the Sultan. In fact, he is a father to all Nigerians and he is a peace builder in this country and beyond.
“I have also been friends with Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal since before his emergence as a Speaker of the House of Representatives and this will be sustained despite the fact that we belong to different political parties,” he added.
Tambuwal, who accompanied Wike, had earlier said that the visit cannot come at a better time than now and restated his belief in the unity of Nigeria.
The governor said the visit would help to strengthen the bond of unity between the two states.
In his remarks, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar said ongoing agitations in the country are symptoms of rot in the Nigerian system.
According to him, lot of things had gone wrong in the past, but hope is not lost.
“A lot of things were done in the past by some people with impunity and nothing was done. That is why you find shortage of good governance now weighing us down in the country. However, as it is now, no matter how bad your hand is, you cannot cut it and throw away,” he added.
The Sultan stressed the need to adopt dialogue to resolve all the misunderstandings and problems in the country.
The monarch said Nigerians should sit together, brain storm, look at what went wrong, retrace their steps and move forward.
He appealed to statesmen in the nation to wade in this direction.
“We are not short of statesmen across Nigeria and they should help the country by championing the dialogue.”
Those in Wike’s entourage include former Rivers Governor Celestine Omehia, former Acting National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secundus, former NBA President OCJ Okocha, Chairman of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers and Amanayabo of Opobo Kingdom, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, Amanayabo og Abonnema, King Gbobo Bob-Manuel and Oda of Abua, King Kelly Obunge, among others.
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