Complicated Case: Why Tinubu did not reinstate Fubara on June 12

 Millions of Rivers people, especially the loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, on Thursday, June 12, had their hope dashed as they had marked out the date to be a moment of wild jubilation and partying.

The expectation everywhere was that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would use the opportunity of that date to reinstate all the democratic institutions in the state that he had suspended on March 18.

The suspension of Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly was sequel to the political tension in the state which saw the forces loyal to the governor and lawmakers aligned to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike at daggers drawn but the President was able to diffuse by that decision of the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.

Several bookmakers had predicted that, given his democratic posturing, Tinubu was expected to recall the suspended governor either on May 29, a date that marked two years of the current elected officials, or June 12, which has come to be known as the National Democracy Day, NDD.

But the question many are asking is what could have stopped the President from reinstating the governor on June 12 and repositioning Rivers on the path of democracy?

Leaked plan

Given the pressure mounted on the President by eminent Nigerians and knowing the damage the imposition of the state of emergency could have on his reputation, Tinubu was alleged to have put the machinery in place to reinstate the suspended governor without minding whose ox is gored.

The two high stake meetings held in London and Tinubu’s Lagos residence were said to be pointers to the looming recall of the suspended officials.

But sources revealed that the governor’s loyalists, who got wind of the plan, began to jubilate ahead of June 12 even when it was still weeks away.

This jubilation, it was learnt, did not go down well with the camp of Wike, who then pulled all the strings to ensure that the suspension was not lifted until the fulfillment of a certain agreement.

A source disclosed that even Fubara did not keep the plan under wraps as he divulged in one of his public outings that he and all the suspended officials would be returned back to government very soon.

The source noted that the announcement of the governor’s return was to be made by Tinubu on June 12. “The process of the handing over of power would have taken one or two weeks”, a prominent activist said.
However, Fubara appears now to be walking a tight rope to his reinstatement.

The governor seems to have been surrounded by landmines every step of the way by those forces that want him out of power by all means necessary.

Only last week, the factional Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, declared that even if Fubara joins the party, he would still not escape the hammer of impeachment.

Recall that one of the alleged cards on the table of reconciliation when the governor met with the President in London was that he should toe the footsteps of the governors of Delta and Akwa Ibom states by dumping the PDP for the APC.

But while that “offer” was still under consideration, Okocha decried that Fubara was yet to consult him and those who are aggrieved by his action or inaction as governor for true reconciliation.

“If Fubara decides to join the APC, it has nothing to do with the state of emergency in Rivers State. His sins cannot be forgiven because he came to our party. It is not true”, the party Chairman said.
“He has not spoken to me. He will enter the party through the door, not the window. Not only him.”

Speaking on the presidential directive that the suspended governor should go back home and ensure the return of peace in the state, Okocha said Fubara had failed to carry out the order.

“I can confirm that there is no reconciliation effort currently underway in Rivers”, he said.

“The suspended Governor Fubara has not made any move to reconcile with the lawmakers. Only genuine reconciliation can save him from impeachment, as the Supreme Court judgment stands”.