Throwback: Okonkwo Slams Wike-Fubara Truce, Says Fubara Was “Outsmarted” Amid Tinubu’s Intervention

Veteran Nollywood actor and political commentator, Kenneth Okonkwo, has strongly criticized the political truce brokered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, describing the deal as lopsided and a betrayal of the rule of law.

Okonkwo questioned the integrity of the agreement, accusing political actors surrounding Fubara of exploiting his openness and good faith for political gain.

“If I am a Governor, and Tinubu threatens me with a state of emergency in my state as the elected chief executive, I will never leave that Government House. It’s either they give me liberty or death,” Okonkwo declared.

Okonkwo drew parallels with past events in Nigerian politics, referencing the abduction of former Anambra State Governor Chris Ngige, to emphasise the psychological damage that political intimidation can have on an elected leader. He warned that undermining a Governor’s authority weakens governance and emboldens political subterfuge.

“A Chief Executive of a State needs a level of confidence. If you make him live on his knees, he will not be able to achieve anything reasonable,” he said, denouncing what he called a deliberate effort to erode Fubara’s political standing.

The outspoken lawyer and Labour Party chieftain claimed Fubara was “outsmarted” in the earlier peace deal, which required both sides to withdraw legal cases. According to Okonkwo, while the Governor complied and withdrew his court action, Wike’s allies failed to reciprocate.

“He did it at the cost of the rule of law, even naively withdrew his own statement in court, and those people refused to withdraw theirs,” he said.

He further criticised the judiciary’s handling of recent legal matters involving the Rivers State Assembly, blaming an ambiguous Supreme Court judgment for worsening legislative confusion in the state. “That’s why the judiciary should know that they are so important to cut the excesses of the Executive or the Legislature so that democracy can have a free flow.”

President Tinubu brokered a high-stakes political truce to end the prolonged crisis in Rivers State, agreeing to reinstate suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara under strict conditions chief among them, that he will not seek re-election in 2027.

Since then, Fubara and his political godfather Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the FCT was seen at the funeral service of his beloved cousin, the late Elder Temple Omezurike Onuoha, in Rumueprikom.

The Suspended Rivers State Governor Fubara revealed that with unity, peace has returned to the State.