Rivers gov restates commitment to peace, development

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has advocated the need for peace to propel a conducive environment to deliver good governance and greater development of the State and the nation.

Accordingly, he has assured of his administration’s readiness to continue to promote peace in the State for the overall benefit of all living and doing business in the State.

Governor Fubara made the assertion when he received members of the International Association of World Peace Advocates, Eminent Peace Ambassadors, Rivers State Chapter on a Road Walk to commemorate the 2024 International Day of Peace at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Saturday.

Represented by the Head of Service, Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nwaeke, Governor Fubara emphasized the need for residents to continue to preach the message of peace in the State and Nigeria at large, particularly at this time when the nation is at a crossroads.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, and sent to newsmen.

Governor Fubara thanked members of the association for embarking on the road walk to mark the International Day of Peace, and also identifying with the peaceful disposition of the present administration under his leadership.

He said, “Thank you for identifying with the Governor and the special qualities he possesses. Like you said, he has the capacity, but he refuses to fight back. That shows innermost strength, and that’s a very important ingredient for peace. Our Governor possesses it in exceeding volume.

“So, I want to thank you for marking the International Day of Peace today. We need to preach peace to all corners of our State. We need to preach peace in our families, especially in this season that we find ourselves as Rivers people and as Nigerians. ”

Continuing, he said, “Our administration will continue to act in a way that will bring peace to the State, and at the end of the day, we will all be beneficiaries of the outcome of that peace advocacy.”

Earlier, the Director of the International Association of World Peace Advocates, Eminent Peace Ambassadors, Rivers State Chapter, Juliet Wokocha, had said that the road walk is part of activities by the United Nations body to mark the 2024 International Day of Peace with the theme: “Cultivating a Culture of Peace.”

Wokocha, who noted that peace cannot be kept by force but can only be achieved by understanding, stated that they were in Government House to show solidarity with the Governor for his peaceful disposition, pledge their support, and also urge him to sustain the peace so far achieved in the State.

She said, “We have notified the Governor through our letter that we will be undertaking a road walk to mark the day of peace because we want to let people know that the answer to every situation is peace.”

She said, “Our Governor is the best Governor as far as peace is concerned in the world, not Nigeria. His tolerance level is too high. Anybody with his capacity would have taken powers into his hands and caused situations that would trigger unrest and affect the citizens. But he is not like that. He is saying, let us maintain peace, whether justice is done or not, let us maintain peace.

“And so, this association that is affiliated with the United Nations has come to say, we are supporting him. We have come here to tell him that we are pledging our support. We will keep supporting him, and we are also urging him to keep maintaining peace” for the good of the State.

“Right now, as we are commemorating here in Rivers State, different parts of the world, as far as you are UN-affiliated in this association, are commemorating the peace in their areas. But we decided to do a road walk so that people would see us and key in.

“So, please, let us maintain peace in this State. We need peace to survive, as peace promotes development, allows for growth, and every good thing the citizens would want from our present Governor, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.”