Stakeholders differ over Tinubu’s move to halt Fubara impeachment

By Daniel Abia

Stakeholders in the Niger Delta region have expressed differing opinions on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s attempt to halt the impeachment process against the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, by the State House of Assembly.

Reports say President Tinubu instructed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, to prevail on the Assembly lawmakers to drop the impeachment threat against the governor and allow peace to return to the state.

Speaking on the development, a chieftain of the Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said the President’s position on the Rivers State political crisis was confusing, adding that “if I were the governor of Rivers State, there is no way Wike, a minister, would be the political leader of the state”.

Sara-Igbe noted that the President cannot see “evil” and pretend that all is well in the state. “We are not in a military dictatorship and Rivers people are not happy with what is happening in the state. All politicians are selfish and President Tinubu is only interested in his 2027 re-election ambitions.”

The former security adviser to the Rivers State Government stated that “when Wike was governor, he never went to late Muhammadu Buhari for anything, so why should he be disturbing Sim, making him go to Tinubu every time for help over the political crisis in the state?”

“President Tinubu is a smart politician who knows what he wants and goes all out for it,” said Joseph Ambakaderimo, convener of the South-South Reawakening Group (SSRG) and chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), of the Community Committee of Oil and Gas Producing Areas of the Niger Delta States.

Ambakaderimo, who was pleased with the President’s move to salvage Governor Fubara from another round of impeachment, cautioned that Tinubu “should be very careful about those pushing him against the FCT Minister, Wike”, adding that “Wike is to Tinubu what late Tony Anenih was to former President Obasanjo”.

He alleged that Fubara does not have the capacity to garner the number of votes Wike secured for Tinubu in 2023. “It is only Wike and Fubara who can settle their problems — not the President, not anybody else. I believe the position the President has taken is for the overall good of Rivers State and its people.”

On his part, the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (IJSJHR), Dr Jackson Omenazu, who also described President Tinubu’s move on Rivers politics as a smart step, said the President’s style of politics should be reviewed for proper understanding.

“If we go by the manifesto of the APC, there is no position for two leaders in the same state. Why can’t Fubara be the political leader of Rivers State? Is this what happens in other APC-controlled states? APC leadership at the national level should not sit on the fence in this case.”

Omenazu observed that the law of equity is completely absent in Rivers State, saying that “Governor Fubara is highly subjugated. Tinubu’s action is not presidential enough. He was a governor before. Wike was also a governor. Were they treated the way they are treating Fubara today?”

The rights activist noted that only the national chairman of the APC has the legal right to declare who is a political leader in a state, not the President.

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