Rivers Political Crisis: Tinubu’s directive splits South-south leaders
The former military governor of the old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, and the ex-governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, who are the co-chairmen of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of PANDEF, led the group’s delegation to the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The national chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, attended.
PANDEF is the umbrella body of the traditional rulers, leaders, and stakeholders of the coastal states of the Niger Delta, convened by the former Federal Commissioner for Information, Senator Edwin Clark, who was its National Leader until his demise last month.
President Tinubu directed the leaders, who deferentially requested his fresh intervention before the feud snowballed into a full-blown crisis, to return home and advise Fubara to obey the Supreme Court’s judgment. He added that he told the governor, who visited him earlier on Monday, to tow the path of peace. The President had said at the meeting: “This is a nation governed by the rule of law. I should not be here as president without the rule of law. I have total confidence in our judiciary.
We have expectations. Human beings can make errors. But once the court has spoken, that is it. Human beings can make errors. But once the court has spoken, that is it. Please go back home and help implement the court rulings within the shortest possible time. I am putting the ball in your court. Help, privately and openly intervene, and counsel the governor. Pursue the path of peace and stability.”
Apparently, because of the president’s disposition, Fubara returned to the state and initiated a failed bid to represent the 2025 Budget to the House of Assembly. Still, a seeming communication gap, grand standing and ego problem between him and the lawmakers stalled his Wednesday move.
Fubara has employed some strategies to execute the president’s directive without bruising himself more, as he awaits the South-South leaders, whom President Tinubu has given his imprimatur to further mediate between him and Wike to ensure an amicable settlement of the political crisis.
However, Tinubu’s deportment on the matter in full glare when he played host to Niger-Delta leaders has caused a stir in the oil-rich region.
The President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, who fumed at the President’s demeanor said members of PANDEF who went to Abuja “felt so ashamed of themselves the way Tinubu addressed them.” He said by the President’s “un-presidential statement,” he showed no commitment for peace in Rivers State.
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March 15, 2025
Rivers Political Crisis: Tinubu’s directive splits South-south leaders
Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu
•President not ready for peace in Rivers—Prof. Okaba, INC president
•This is an ambush for PANDEF leaders—Akene, development consultant
•PANDEF already compromised—Gbemre, N’Delta activist •Directive gratuitous — Nwoko (SAN)
•President should invite Fubara and 27 lawmakers as he did for Lagos lawmakers
By Emma Amaize, South-South Regional Editor, Sam Oyadongha, Egufe Yafugborhi, Chioma Onuegbu, Dan Abia, Emem Idio, and Ochuko Akuopha
Opinions have been divided in the South-South geopolitical zone since Tuesday when President Bola Tinubu commanded the leaders of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), who visited him in Abuja, to return and tell the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to tow the path of peace in the political crisis between him and the Federal Capital Minister, FCT, Nyesom Wike.
The former military governor of the old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, and the ex-governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, who are the co-chairmen of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of PANDEF, led the group’s delegation to the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The national chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, attended.
PANDEF is the umbrella body of the traditional rulers, leaders, and stakeholders of the coastal states of the Niger Delta, convened by the former Federal Commissioner for Information, Senator Edwin Clark, who was its National Leader until his demise last month.
President Tinubu directed the leaders, who deferentially requested his fresh intervention before the feud snowballed into a full-blown crisis, to return home and advise Fubara to obey the Supreme Court’s judgment. He added that he told the governor, who visited him earlier on Monday, to tow the path of peace. The President had said at the meeting: “This is a nation governed by the rule of law. I should not be here as president without the rule of law. I have total confidence in our judiciary.
We have expectations. Human beings can make errors. But once the court has spoken, that is it. Human beings can make errors. But once the court has spoken, that is it. Please go back home and help implement the court rulings within the shortest possible time. I am putting the ball in your court. Help, privately and openly intervene, and counsel the governor. Pursue the path of peace and stability.”
Apparently, because of the president’s disposition, Fubara returned to the state and initiated a failed bid to represent the 2025 Budget to the House of Assembly. Still, a seeming communication gap, grand standing and ego problem between him and the lawmakers stalled his Wednesday move.
Fubara has employed some strategies to execute the president’s directive without bruising himself more, as he awaits the South-South leaders, whom President Tinubu has given his imprimatur to further mediate between him and Wike to ensure an amicable settlement of the political crisis.
However, Tinubu’s deportment on the matter in full glare when he played host to Niger-Delta leaders has caused a stir in the oil-rich region.
Tinubu has taken side with Wike — Prof. Okaba, INC president
The President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, who fumed at the President’s demeanor said members of PANDEF who went to Abuja “felt so ashamed of themselves the way Tinubu addressed them.” He said by the President’s “un-presidential statement,” he showed no commitment for peace in Rivers State.
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His words: “What he simply did was to embolden Wike and that manifested in the media chat the FCT minister had the next day. The same day, Governor Sim Fubara was humiliated by the 27 House of Assembly members. We acknowledge President Bola Tinubu’s call for Niger Delta leaders to take charge of resolving the crisis in Rivers State. We only wonder if this call is a genuine intention to resolve the matter or a desire to allow Wike to hound Governor Fubara in the most undemocratic manner he has done since 2023.
“As the foremost socio-cultural organization representing the Ijaw people, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) remains deeply concerned about the ongoing political tension between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister, Nyesom Wike, as the actions of the latter fall grossly below expectations as a man that has enjoyed the overwhelming support through his eight-year tenure as governor.
“If anybody is unhappy with the governor for any reason, he should work toward and wait for 2027 to support another candidate. And Mr. President must realize that how he treats the Ijaw of Rivers State regarding this matter will determine the reactions of Ijaw now and in 2027. While we appreciate Mr. President’s previous intervention efforts and his confidence in the judiciary, we must emphasize that his directives handed over the mantle of government to the FCT minister. And we are sure that the President will never accept such conditions from his predecessor if faced with what is happening in Rivers State.
“Sustainable peace in the Niger Delta or Rivers State requires genuine commitment from all parties, including Mr. President. The INC has consistently advocated for dialogue, justice, equity, and fairness in governance, and to be fair, Wike and his Ikwerre kinsmen have had 16 years of undisturbed rule. Mr. President must know that the Ijaw nation is not and will never accept any move to truncate Fubara’s legitimate tenure in office. We insist that the President must call the FCT minister to order. Otherwise, he should choose between Wike and the entire Ijaw nation. The INC, therefore, reiterates that President Tinubu should instruct his minister to cease fire and allow the governor to run the state in peace, even as we have seen him make visible efforts at implementing the Supreme Court judgment.
“We recall that Gov. Fubara was already implementing the President’s directives when Wike and his co-travelers obstructed the process by not withdrawing their court cases following the governor’s withdrawals”.
He said that Tinubu openly supported Wike against Fubara, adding, “He has idolized Wike, which is why he is ready to do anything to appease his minister while Rivers State or the entire Nigeria boils. The president’s disposition does not align with that of Rivers people or Nigerians. How many court judgments has the president obeyed? He selects what he wants and leaves the rest.
Why did he order the delegation to prevail on Fubara to implement the Supreme Court ruling and keep quiet over Wike’s antics? Under Tinubu as President, the institutions of democracy in Nigeria are getting weaker while individuals are getting richer. That is why people like Wike can brazenly insult a whole ethnic nationality without a word of caution from the president”.
The INC president alleged that Wike has no respect for PANDEF, wondering, “How then will it be possible for the group to make peace? The question now is, if PANDEF calls Wike for peace, will he appear? I doubt it”. The Ijaw leader, who stated that the PANDEF delegation to Abuja was “a mistake,” asserted that, “The President has made up his mind to support Wike because the man is doing all the damage work for him. This is sad for all of us as a people. We will continue to support Sim, but to beg anybody for peace in the state, that, we will not do. My advice to those causing the crisis in the state is to allow Fubara to perform his job as Governor of Rivers State”.
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