Rivers Crisis: Wike declares he won’t apologize to Odili

Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has declared that he has no obligation to apologize to Peter Odili, the former governor of Rivers State.

Speaking at a luncheon on Friday at his home in Old GRA, Port Harcourt, Wike claimed that his recent remarks on Odili were a reminder of the former governor’s previous public remarks rather than an attack.

The FCT minister, who was also Rivers State’s most recent governor, explained that his comments on Sunday were meant to reaffirm what Odili had said.

Wike also charged Odili with inciting Governor Siminalayi Fubara to flout the conditions of an eight-point peace agreement.

The goal of the December 2023 agreement, which was made in front of President Bola Tinubu, was to end the state’s continuing political turmoil.

“They said I should apologize; for what?” Wike asked. Although I stated as an elder statesman that there is no law that prohibits their daughter from doing so, should you have given your daughter what belonged to your nephew?

Did I mention that your daughter shouldn’t be doing something because of the law?

However, you mentioned that someone is turning Rivers State into his own property. It’s not right.

You are the one turning Rivers State into a private estate, and to top it all off, you have been appointed general overseer.

“You cannot kill me for something I didn’t say since I didn’t say anything bad. You are not like Tinubu. Tinubu referred to Rivers people as good people.

He asked you to make peace because he was an elder statesman, but you returned home. Normally, you would have called Mr. President back to explain how you attempted to put some of them into practice. Is it possible for us to do the remaining tasks? Instead, you defied.

According to them, elders advised me to apologize. For what do you apologize?

“I replied that I had read and heard that someone who ought to be our elder statesman had stated one thing today and another tomorrow, and I declined.

Read Also: Tinubu Launches Command Centre, Smart Green Schools in Enugu

“That should not be said by an elder statesman. “I didn’t say so,” the senior politician added. I would have apologized if he had claimed not to have said that. He did not, however, refute the assertion.

“I didn’t mistreat anyone. I said our elder statesman was the one telling people the kind of mansion and castle I built for him. I did not say that.

“It is not me who said it. It is the man who is supposed to be an elder statesman that said so. You are the one going about telling people what I did.”

Wike, had on Sunday, accused ex-Governor Odili of positioning members of his family in lucrative positions within the state while maintaining control as “the General Overseer”.

The FCT minister made the allegation on Sunday during a thanksgiving service, in response to a comment by Odili, who had said that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had prevented “one man” from turning Rivers State into a personal estate.

An infuriated Wike fired back, urging Odili to stop being a “sycophant and a trader”.

Wike’s luncheon on Friday had in attendance politicians from both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebolo and former Governor of Edo, Adams Oshiomole, also attended the occasion.

During the event, goodwill messages were delivered by several politicians.

Before the speeches, a documentary highlighting instances where Odili had publicly praised Wike was shown to the audience.