President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is under pressure by eminent Nigerians to end the emergency rule imposed on Rivers State and restore the suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, the legislature and the state’s other democratic institutions this May 29, Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
Indeed, speculations are rife that Tinubu may reinstate Fubara by May 29 according to Vanguard, which quoted a former House of Representatives member Prince Ogbonna Nwuke, as fueling the speculation.
The lawmaker reportedly said, “I think as a democrat, the president should use the May 29, which is a big day in our country’s political history, to convince the whole world that he is indeed a true democrat by reinstating Governor Fubara , his deputy and the House of Assembly”.
Also, Ann Kio Briggs, spokesperson for Ijaw Republican Assembly, IRA, reportedly said that reinstating Fubara on May 29 would make more sense to the people of the state.
“He has to be reinstated on May 29, being Democracy Day, so that the governor can join his colleague governors to celebrate his second year in office”.
Briggs explained that the entire Rivers people will appreciate Tinubu if he could “bring back our governor on May 29. That is our Democracy Day. It will bring a lot of succor to the people of the state who have suffered as a result of the crisis in the past two years”.
Corroborating the IRA’s spokesperson, the President of Ijaw National Congress, INC, Prof Benjamin Okaba, said Tinubu would make history if he reinstates Fubara on May 29 as with stringent lines drawn to demarcate power play between the two warring factions.
“Fubara’s visits to the President and Wike are welcome developments. The president can make history by returning Fubara earlier than expected”, he said.
“Besides, he should make himself the president of all Nigerians, not to a particular person. Let the Minister mind his job in Abuja and allow the Rivers people to enjoy the governor they voted for.
“I am not interested whether Fubara wants to defect to APC or not. After all, our politicians do not have ideology. And the country is cascading to a one party state. “What we want is his return to power for the interest of Rivers people”.
For Dr. Joseph Ambakederimo, Convener of the South-South Reawakening Group, SSRG, “Fubara has shown that he is a man of peace. He has shown enough remorse and deserves to return to his duty post.
“The stakes are high. Expectations are also high. Nigerians are eagerly waiting to hear what Mr. President will have to tell us on Democracy Day.
“I know that the president won’t disappoint. Our prayer is that Fubara should be returned to power. I was privileged to meet with him recently in Port Harcourt and I saw a man who was ready to do anything for the sake of peace”.
More than anything else, what is more worrisome to the Rivers people is the terms of agreement between the FCT Minister and the suspended governor for the return of peace in the state and his subsequent return to power.
There are speculations that appointment of commissioners must be shared in a formula that will give the Abuja bloc a comfortable stand.
This same formula will apply to the appointment of all offices when normal democratic institutions are restored.
For local government elections which were earlier scheduled to be conducted on August 9, “the Minister’s interest will be highly protected”, a source privy to the arrangement hinted.
“The template has been set already. There is a change in the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.
“Interested contestants would be selected, it does not matter which political parties they belong. They will be there to serve the interest of those who nominated them”.
How then will Fubara’s second coming to office look like? Is he going to be a puppet governor who will dance whenever the string is pulled from outside the state?
What will be the political fate of the Atiku supporters (elders) when normalcy returns and Fubara returns to the saddle? All eyes are on May 29 while Nigerians sit on edge.
But Nigerians are of the opinion that having shown sufficient regrets for his actions or inactions, Fubara deserves to be reinstated.
The president had on March 18, 2025 slammed a state of emergency on the state following repeated clashes between the supporters of Fubara and his erstwhile godfather predecessor and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
This led to the suspension of Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Ordu, the Legislature and the entire democratic structure in the state.
In their place, he appointed a retired military officer to administer the state for the period the the emergency rule would last.
