The Elders and Leaders of Thought of Rivers State have declared that President Bola Tinubu’s peace agreement, extracted from the main dramatis personae in the political crisis, is “actually a death sentence as it breaches all legal and constitutional rights you swore to uphold.”

This declaration counters Gov. Fubara’s message on Christmas Day, where he declared that the President’s Peace Proclamation was not a death sentence and that he was not forced to endorse the document.

The Rivers Elders and Leaders of Thought on Wednesday in Port Harcourt told the governor that “you have no constitutional or any other legal power to implement the ‘Presidential Peace Proclamation.

“The Forum, in its address presented by former governor of the state and elder statesman, Chief Rufus Ada-George, expressed the belief that there could be peace in Port Harcourt and indeed the entire Rivers if only the governor would be circumspect in his actions, measured in his engagements, and have a critical mind in his review of events.

It queried at what cost the Governor was pursuing peace, noting that “one of the Arab-Israeli wars was declared over on the lawns of the White House, believing that the war was indeed over with a declaration that there is peace in Galilee.

“Today we are living witnesses to the facts that the documents signed by the late Israeli President Menachem Begin and the late PLO Chairman, Yasser Arafat, have been shredded into pieces, and there is neither celebration of Christmas nor peace in Bethlehem.”

The forum advised the governor not to place too much premium on the assurances of detractors but rather to be guided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that he has sworn to uphold.

The Elders said, “We accept your humility as shown in your Christmas Day broadcast of December 25, 2023, to the good people of Rivers State. However, we, the people of Rivers State, do not see any peace in the so-called “Mr. President’s Peace Proclamation.

“The Forum commends your Excellency’s honesty and sincerity in accepting that Mr. President’s Peace Proclamation “has elicited mixed reactions from our people and across the country.

“Peace can only be practiced in a germane, truthful, and just society. In this case, the environment in which the peace was broken showed no sensitivity to the people’s security or political or social interests.

“Mr. Governor Sir, you stated categorically that you are a principal participant in the entire saga, and the Presidential Peace Proclamation is not as bad as being portrayed by those genuinely opposed to it. That proclamation is actually a death sentence as it breaches all legal and constitutional rights you swore to uphold,” they added. (Courtesy, excluding headline, Nigerian Tribune)

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