President Bola Tinubu will not take sides in the political crisis rocking Rivers State, says the presidency.
Governor Similanayi Fubara and his predecessor and now federal capital territory minister, Nyesom Wike are at loggerheads in the state.
Their rift degenerated, affecting the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) which has been factionalised.
Majority of the state lawmakers backing the minister decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC), resulting in their seats been declared vacant by their factionalised colleagues siding the governor.
TINUBU INTERVENES
President Tinubu summoned the warring parties and proffered political solutions which TODAY POLITICS understood were unconstitutional. Mr Fubara agreed and implemented his own part of the 8-point resolutions except re-presenting the year’s budget already passed by the faction loyal to him.
After the peace deal, the Pro-Wike loyalists began overriding the governor on some bills and threatened to resume impeachment proceedings against the Rivers helmsman.
Their threat appeared to have awakened the faction loyal to the governor which lied low since the peace deal. They have now elected Victor Jumbo as their speaker and have secured an order from the state high court prohibiting their opponents from parading themselves as lawmakers.
FUBARA FUMES
At the weekend, the governor said he should not be underrated for towing the part of peace, vowing to teach his foes political arithmetics if prompted, a remark signaling the collapse of the peace deal.
He had already said the existence of the Pro-Wike loyalists largely depends on his decision to recognise them, as doing the opposite means they are non-existent.
TINUBU NOT TAKING SIDES
Featuring on Television Continental (TVC) on Saturday, presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, said those hoping that the president will take sides in the rift between the estranged godfather and godson will be disappointed.
“I believe that anyone who believes that by their actions, whether it’s from the federal level or from the state level and even to the legislative branch in the state or the executive branch, if they are banking on Mr. President taking sides in this matter, they are mistaken and they would be disappointed,” Mr Ngelale said.
“The President will never take sides, what he will do is to ensure that everybody has what they need to work. He is also going to ensure that any attempt to defund or frustrate the operation of the Rivers State government from conducting its affairs in a way that will benefit the Rivers people that obviously will not be allowed by this president or anybody else.
“I think there is a need for all stakeholders to understand that the President will not take sides and that they need to focus in on governance and deliverance of the dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers State and that should be their only consideration to the lead up to 2027 when we can start talking about politics.”
