Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has disclosed the purpose of his visit to the Bayelsa State Government on Wednesday.
According to the governor, the visit was to foster unity and seek areas of collaboration between both states, stating that the two states have a lot in common and cannot afford to work at cross purposes.
Fubara had led a high-powered delegation to visit Governor Douye Diri at his country home in Sampou, Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area of the state. During the visit, the governor Fubara commented on the recent crisis in Rivers, describing it as unfortunate. He said the issues were being resolved as his administration was focused on developing the state.
Fubara stated that Rivers was willing to dialogue and resolve all the legal issues involving both states.
He said: “There is no difference between Rivers and Bayelsa. The creation of Bayelsa was for development purposes. We are one and the same people.
“My visit is a unification meeting. We are here to tell our brother that we want to work together for a common purpose, which is the development of both states.
“We have a lot of things jointly owned by both states. We need to meet and settle all issues. We cannot be developed in a situation of crisis. Peace is the major ingredient for development.
“We appreciate the people of Bayelsa for their solidarity during our trying period. Whatever affects Rivers affects Bayelsa. But equally important is that Nigeria needs peace in Rivers because of our strategic place.”
Earlier, Governor Douye Diri had urged his Rivers State counterpart to work for peace for his vision to develop the state to be actualised.
Diri added that peace cannot be over-emphasised as no development can occur during a crisis.
