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By Oscar Okhifo, Abuja
The Catholic Bishop of Auchi Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Gabriel Dunia has advised President Bola Tinubu to overturn the emergency rule he declared in Rivers State and restore to office, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly.
This is even as the revered Man of God described the proclamation as a miscarriage of justice.
Recall that President Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara and the State legislature in March, 2025for an initial period of six months, following a political crisis that pitched the governor on the one hand against the legislature and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on the other.
Bishop Dunia gave the charge in an interview with Pointblank News at his residence in Auchi Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo state.
He said, “The president should immediately return the Governor that the people of Rivers state elected. They did not vote for a sole administrator, and none should be forced on them.
“The situation in Rivers State is very troubling. This is not a time to keep quiet and watch things degenerate. I don’t think there’s anyone (aside from the major persons involved) who can categorically say he or she knows what exactly is going on between Fubara and Wike. They were once very close friends, as we all know.
Neither Governor Fubara (now suspended) nor his so-called godfather has opened up.
“The scriptures encouraged us all to be envoys of peace and peaceful coexistence. The president intervened once, which was fatherly and very reasonable. If the intervention didn’t yield the desired results, more interventions ought to have been made by the president and other statesmen.
“Although many Nigerians thought the peace pact in Abuja was against the Governor. For whatever reason, he refused to adhere to the letter and spirit. I think it is still the responsibility of the President, the father of the nation, to return both parties to the table of dialogue.
“Can the president say that he has chastised Mr. Wike as he has covertly and openly done to Gov. Fubara? He seems biased. It is my opinion that the declaration of emergency rule was a miscarriage of justice. It was done in haste, and it is an injustice to Fubara and the people of Rivers State.”
The clergyman also faulted the insinuation in some quarters that priests ought to keep to their spiritual obligations, rather than dabble into political commentaries.
“Some Nigerians, including you journalists, think we in the Catholic priesthood should not bare our minds on politics and related issues. You feel or rather think we should only be concerned about things of the church and the flock alone. It is not so at all.
“It is not written anywhere in the scriptures or body of the laws of the church that Priests should look the other way when the polity is troubled or when politics is being played wrongly and roughly.
“We are called to mirror the ways of Jesus Christ and lead the people to the light that he portrays. Religion, especially Christianity, exists to make society better.
“Would Jesus stand aloof while the polity burns? We’re mandated by our training and the scriptures not to refrain from speaking at the appropriate time. We are also warned not to hide our wisdom. The prophets of old never kept mute in the face of injustice and oppression. However, we do not rush to comment on issues in the public domain. We have our ways of reaching out to various leaders and organizations. We only speak out when it becomes obvious that the leaders are not interested in listening or doing the right things that they swore to do,” he said.
On the way out of the crisis in Rivers, Bishop Dunia insisted that “The president has the capacity to calm the situation and all the parties involved. He should please do the needful.
“I plead with the gladiators and all the people of the state to please give peace a chance. Without peace, development is impossible. Nigerian politicians should appreciate the fact that politics without bitterness is still possible, and they all should strive towards achieving it.”
He further advised Nigerians to do away with hatred and bitterness, saying, “Righteousness exalts a nation while sin is a reproach”.
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