Tinubu instructs Rivers State House of Assembly members to stop impeachment moves against Fubara

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has once again waded into the ongoing political spat in Rivers State asking members of the House of Assembly to suspend moves to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara so a political solution can be found.

Over the last two years or so, Governor Fubara and his predecessor and political godfather, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike have been at loggerheads. Last April in response to the crisis, the federal government decided to dissolve the Rivers State government.

At the time, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state, suspending the governor and the Rivers State House of Assembly and appointed the former chief of naval staff Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas as administrator for six months. Although the governor has since resumed office, attempts to agree a lasting peace agreement satisfactory to all parties have proven elusive.

In the fresh push to defuse one of the country’s most combustible political disagreements in recent times, President Tinubu ordered an immediate suspension of any impeachment moves against Governor Fubara but with very strict conditions. Apparently, President Tinubu told Governor Fubara that Mr Wike remains the undisputed political leader of the party, whether the All Progressives Congress (APC) or Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State and he must be respected in that regard.

Apparently, President Tinubu, visibly displeased by the depth of the rift despite his efforts in the past, warned that continued hostilities would undermine governance in the state and lead to instability. President Tinubu was then said to have clearly told Mr Wike to back off any impeachment plots against Governor Fubara.

This relationship between the governor and his political godfather began to fracture within months of Governor Fubara’s inauguration, as he sought to assert his independence. Notably, almost all the state lawmakers align with Mr Wike as he got most of them elected too.

Subsequently, attempts to impeach Governor Fubara emerged from the pro-Wike group in the Rivers State House of Assembly. Although the governor has tried to wriggle out of the situation several times, the shadows of impeachment continue to haunt him every time there is a disagreement with the minister.

While Mr Wike’s camp continues to accuse Governor Fubara of betrayal and political ingratitude, the governor’s allies argue that Rivers State cannot be run from outside the state by a former governor now serving as the FCT minister. As part of the peace deal, the president directed Mr Wike and his camp to immediately halt all impeachment-related actions against Governor Fubara, while in return, the governor was instructed to make significant concessions, chief among them being the formal recognition of Mr Wike as the political leader in Rivers State, with final authority on party matters.

However, the complexity of Mr Wike’s case is that he is not a card-carrying member of the APC in Rivers State an d officially, he remains a member of the opposition PDP. Besides, the understanding covered the upcoming state House of Assembly bye-elections in Rivers State in which President Tinubu directed that candidates loyal to Mr Wike should be recognised by the APC leadership for the two vacant assembly seats.