Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has stated that peace has prevailed because he took strength from God to withstand insults and tantrums hurled at him while frustrating attempts by some unhappy individuals who were determined to plunge the state into endless turmoil.
Fubara also stated that by focusing his administration on encouraging peace, he has created an enabling environment for investments and long-term growth to thrive.
Fubara made the statement while receiving a team from the Bishops and Gospel Ministers’ Association International Incorporated, Rivers State Chapter, at Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Nelson Chukwudi, the governor’s chief press secretary, sent a message to journalists on Tuesday.
Fubara, represented by the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, stated that while most people mistook his meekness for weakness, his stance on peace has unquestionably enhanced a harmonious atmosphere of concord, as residents sleep with their eyes closed and investors and shareholders are pleased with the returns on investment.
Fubara stated, “Before, what they hear of Rivers State is that they are fighting, and some genuine investors will not come. Some people even ask you, How are you coping in Rivers State?
“But now the governor has brought about a lot of changes in the state. One of the most important things is that he has changed the negative narrative. It is no longer a river of blood. It is now the River of Peace.
“We are enjoying our lives here. Why? Because there is a change in the narrative. We have peace. The Governor is, as much as possible, absorbing any level of insult at him only for one purpose: that Rivers State may have peace, that we may grow, and that this state will experience genuine development.”
Fubara exhorted them, as members of the state’s Christian family, to continue praying for the state and its leadership in order to bring the state’s opponents to shame.
“This peace is what I want you to embrace. Go and continue to pray because when the sower of the seed went and sowed, the enemy went in the night and sowed tares inside there. But the governor is sowing peace.
“When I listened to the leader of the team, His Grace Eddy Ogbonda, he said you came from Eleme Junction and stopped at major junctions, and you uttered prayers for the peace of Rivers State.
“I hereby want to thank you for identifying with the governor at a time like this. At a time when it looks as if someone wants the governor’s peace posture misunderstood as a weakness,.
“When someone has the strength to fight back but refuses to fight back, That is a bigger strength; that power of restraint does not just come. It can only come from God.
“You cannot give peace if you do not have peace within you. The governor is not interested in any form of trouble or violence. What he is interested in is known, and it is: let there be peace in Rivers State,” he said.
In his address, Archbishop Eddy Ogbonda, the group’s leader, stated that they had held a week-long intensive prayer session that culminated in a peace rally that brought them to Government House and assured the Fubara that God would continue to give him victory over his adversaries while preserving Rivers State.
Ogbonda said, “It is the Rivers State Prophetic Prayer Convocation and Rally 2024 with the theme ‘Peace be still’. To tell the truth, every one of us understands that we live in a time when we need peace much more than anything else.
“Rivers State needs peace. Everyone, as individuals, needs peace. The country needs peace, and the world at large needs peace. So, we are here to do a peace march. We pray that God will command His peace to reign in Rivers State.”
