Fubara remarks, "Rivers now for peace, not blood."

Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, claims that the state has experienced calm because he prayed to God for courage to withstand taunts and outbursts directed at him.

He claimed that attempts by what he called “some disgruntled persons bent on plunging the state into crisis” were prevented by this one step.

At the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Fubara welcomed a delegation of the Bishops and Gospel Ministers’ Association International Incorporated, Rivers State chapter. Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, are at odds over politics.

Fubara was represented by Dr. George Nwaeke, the Head of the State Civil Service, according to a statement released on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi.

He 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 Rivers of blood. It is now Rivers 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; that this state will experience genuine development.”

As members of the state’s Christian family, Governor Fubara urged them to keep praying for the administration and the state in order to further humiliate the state’s opponents.

“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 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 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.

Archbishop Eddy Ogbonda, the group’s leader, stated in his speech that they had participated in a week of intense prayer that resulted in a peace rally that led them to the Government House. He also gave the governor the assurance that God would continue to grant him victory over his enemies.

Ogbonda said, “It is Rivers State Prophetic Prayer Convocation and Rally 2024 with the theme: ‘Peace be still’. Of a truth, every one of us understands that we live in a time when we need peace much more than any other thing.

“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.”