Politics

June 12: Jonathan, Others Mount Pressure On Tinubu To Reinstate Fubara

Published

12 months ago

June 8, 2025

Former President Goodluck Jonathan is among eminent Nigerians said to be making a case for suspended Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State, behind the scenes, to be returned to his position on or before June 12.

Jonathan, according to sources, has engaged President Bola Tinubu in at least one telephone conversation on the need to reinstate the suspended governor on or before June 12 in the spirit of Democracy Day.

The president will, according to tradition, address the nation in a broadcast on June 12.

Tinubu had, on March 18, suspended Fubara from office for six months, but many people described the action as unconstitutional as, according to them, there is no part of the Constitution which empowers the president to suspend/remove an elected governor in the event that emergency rule imposition becomes inevitable in any part of the country.

The critics cite Section 305, which provides for emergency rule without the suspension/removal of an elected governor.

They also refer to Section 188, which vests the removal of elected officials solely on the state House of Assembly.
Nevertheless, Tinubu slammed six months suspension on Fubara while also applying the same punishment on his deputy and members of the state House of Assembly, most of whom were loyal to Fubara’s predecessor, Nyesom Wike, incumbent Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and who (lawmakers) had commenced the impeachment process against Fubara.

The suspension was the climax of the fight between Fubara and Wike over the control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State and appointments into key positions in government.

It had been speculated that Tinubu could lift the suspension on May 29 when the nation celebrated the second anniversary of his administration, but, as that did not happen, many people are banking on June 12 reinstatement.

Four days from today, June 12 precisely, Nigeria will celebrate another Democracy Day, marking 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance since 1999.

Every June 12, since the 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, Nigerians reminisce on the president who was never sworn-in, his wife, Kudirat, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and Pa Alfred Rewane, among others, who also sacrificed their lives for the democracy the nation enjoys today.

President Bola Tinubu, also a participant in the struggle, is today a beneficiary of social equality that Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chief Arthur Nwankwo, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Chief Frank Kokori, Chief Bola Ige, and Chief Adekunle Ajasin, who have departed this life, fought for. Among others were Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, Chief Ayo Fasanmi, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Chief Olabiyi Durojaiye, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, and Chima Ubani, who have also transmuted to the upper realm.

In his national broadcast on June 12 last year, when Nigeria celebrated its 25th anniversary of unbroken democracy, Tinubu noted, “No matter how democracy may be, it is the best form of governance in the long run.”

He added, “We must also be aware that there are those among us who will try to exploit current challenges to undermine, if not destroy, this democracy for which so much has already been given.

“As president of this nation, I am morally and constitutionally bound to preserve this precious form of governance. I vow to do my utmost best to protect your rights, freedoms, and liberties as citizens of Nigeria.”

It is on his above vow that he is morally and constitutionally bound to preserve democracy that Nigerians, among many other things, wait for his newfangled position on the infringement of democratic governance in Rivers State since March 18.

Parenthetically, he, as a democratically elected president, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State for six months on March 18, suspending the duly elected governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and replacing him with a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Etteh Ibas (retd.).

By the act, later stamped by the National Assembly, Rivers State has been governed by an unelected “governor” contrary to the laws.

By September 18, it will be six months since Ibas took over Rivers State by fiat of Tinubu.

As the president leads the country to mark another June 12 anniversary on Thursday, it will be three months next Wednesday, June 18, that Ibas took over as sole administrator of Rivers State, with Fubara, the elected governor, outside the Government House, Port Harcourt.

Will Tinubu end the state of emergency he imposed on Rivers State six days before its complete three months on June 18?

Or will the travesty that he and others fought against continue under his watch?

Only the president knows his unpretentious plan for Rivers State. While there are indications that Fubara is likely to return to his position, it is difficult to predict when this will happen.

New realization
Unlike the days before his suspension, he is now playing the same game with Tinubu.

He has come to understand why his colleague in Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and why his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Governor Umo Eno, has also abandoned the PDP for the APC.

Unmistakably, the politics of Rivers State in recent times has transformed into a pragmatic chessboard game, giving vent to various conjectures by keen observers.

Before May 29, the second anniversary of the present elected government officials, many had thought Fubara would be reinstated to his position as governor.

But with May 29 gone, optimists say Tinubu may reinstate the governor on Democracy Day, June 12, ahead of June 18, when it will be a full three months of emergency rule in the state.

London consultation
As a man desperate for a lasting peace and true reconciliation in the face of daunting fiery darts unleashed on him by political opponents, Fubara shocked everyone when he made a trip to the United Kingdom via Germany to meet with Tinubu, who was in London in April.

The private meeting, which lasted more than three hours, centered on restoring peace in Rivers State, the possible return of Fubara, and the entire gamut of the suspended democratic institutions.

Sources confided that the London parley offered the president a first-hand opportunity to observe the chemistry of the suspended governor at close range.

Follow-up session in Lagos
Nigerians were again awed when Fubara met with Tinubu in Lagos State last Tuesday.
The picture of Tinubu and Fubara that hit the media space showed men posed in a manner signifying that something positive may be in the offing.

The Lagos meeting gave credence to Fubara’s earnest appeal-cum-warning to his supporters six days before the Lagos meeting with Tinubu to “thank Mr. President for his timely intervention to salvage the situation…”

The embattled governor also warned his loyalists not to cast aspersions on the president and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as doing so could jeopardize the ongoing peace process.
One major reason Fubara embarked on the peace voyage to Bourdillion was, it was learnt, to reassure Tinubu of his commitment to work with him.

There were speculations that Fubara may want to take his pound of flesh from Wike by aligning with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential race.

More so, with the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, being touted to lead the pack of the new coalition opposition parties, the fear of losing Fubara was feverish, as Amaechi and Fubara are purportedly secret allies.

To show his level of commitment, Fubara had ordered an immediate end to all forms of protests in Rivers.

He encouraged everyone who sympathised with him to follow his example of leadership by remaining calm during the crisis.

Wike in limbo?
Wike, according to several sources, was not aware of Tinubu and Fubara’s meeting at his private home on Bourdillion Street, Ikoyi, Lagos State. “The governor requested the unexpected visit,” one of the sources told Vanguard.

Wiked has revealed in a recent media chat that he hadn’t seen the suspended governor since Fubara visited him at his home in Abuja with two prominent South-West politicians.

He had always been adamant that the only way he ever wanted to vent his resentment of his political godson was to have Fubara removed from office. The minister expressed his displeasure with the state of emergency declaration, claiming it gave the struggling governor a haven.

However, the minister has consistently maintained that the governor must act sincerely if he genuinely wishes to bring about peace in Rivers State.

“How can I fight my son?” he asked, reaffirming that Fubara is his son. He claimed to be furious because Fubara volunteered to fight him as a willing tool for political rivals (Wike).

The alleged political adversaries include a former governor, Celestine Omehia; former lawmakers Austin Opara and Lee Maeba; former Transportation Minister, Dr. Abiye Sekibo; and former PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

Recall requirements
A reliable source suggested that Tinubu is facing a two-pronged strategy to solidify his power in Rivers, illustrating how the adage “there is no peace without a price” is being applied to politics in the state.

First, if Fubara is a sitting governor, the president can work with him to win a second term in the 2027 presidential election.

The president will have a falling out with his super FCT Minister if this is done.

In a media chat last Monday, Wike had declared that he would personally spearhead Tinubu’s 2027 campaign in Rivers.

In the eyes of many Nigerians, the hypothesis is preemptive.

The source claimed that Fubara switching from the PDP to the APC is the second possibility.

In either case, every rational observer is left vulnerable to Frederic Forsyth’s timeless work, “The Devil’s Alternative.”

As a political move, the president has personally presented the state’s N1.4 trillion budget to the National Assembly, protecting the governor from potential impeachment by Wike’s hated lawmakers in the House of Assembly should they be recalled.

As a result, one of the primary causes of the crisis has been deliberately removed.

Stakeholders hopeful
Prof. Benjamin Okaba, the National President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the umbrella group of the Ijaw nation, told Sunday Vanguard, “All the hypotheses have now been tested, and they are in favor of Fubara.”

Okaba believes that Tinubu has no reason to delay the reinstatement of Fubara as governor.

“Mr. President is a democrat. He was a governor. He, now, knows that the Rivers people love their governor. He also knows that terrible lies were told about the governor to make people despise him and get him out of office through impeachment”, he said.

“The president knows that the suspension is an aberration. He should waste no further time in reversing that decision and returning the governor to power. Posterity is a good judge, and the president will want history to be soft on him.”

Okaba stated categorically that there was nothing wrong with Fubara joining the APC, the president’s party, in a television program, recently.

He is one of the Ijaw leaders who have stood unfalteringly with Fubara in his travails to date.

For him to suggest that the governor could abandon the platform that brought him to power, the PDP, speaks of the subterranean intrigues at play.

“There is nothing wrong with that,” he said while responding to Fubara’s latest meeting with Tinubu in Lagos.

His words, “At this point, we must be realistic, and we must have an understanding of Nigerian politics. We operate a ‘malutocracy.’ We don’t have political parties anymore, but platforms for political associations.

“What we have are just platforms put together for people to transmit or oscillate from one place to another.

“We have state governors and former vice presidential candidates of parties just moving on, to the extent that one of the governors said, ‘If you don’t move with me, I will sack you.’

Opunabo Inkor-Tariah, a former special adviser on media to then-governor Wike, was also hopeful that Fubara’s two private visits to the president were starting to pay off.

“The governor is a reserved individual. He doesn’t talk as much as some politicians do. He has urged his followers to express gratitude to the president and refrain from disparaging the minister”, he said.

“In just two years, Fubara has completed fifty-two projects. No one has ever given him a loan. Before his suspension, he left billions of naira in the coffers. That demonstrates a wise man who is prepared to lift his people out of poverty.

“Tinubu, the president, does not reside in space. He is now aware of the sincerity and truth of a calm man.

“I don’t see anything wrong with bringing the governor back, whether the president reinstates him on June 12 or not. Everything is up in the air; let the president make a decision now since he has learned that the state’s enemies made up these lies to hang the governor”.

Former presidents mount pressure
External forces have, it was learnt, exerted pressure on Tinubu behind the scenes beyond the major gladiators in the crisis.

Among them, according to a source, is former President Goodluck Jonathan, who allegedly engaged in a long telephone conversation with the president.

“That is besides the concern expressed by two other former presidents,” the source revealed.

According to him, the two visits by Fubara came as a result of secret instructions by these forces, and “by the president’s body language, the governor may be returned sooner than the six months earlier announced by the president.”
(VANGUARD)

Related Topics:#Tinubu Fubara Rivers Rivers Crisis Wike

Up Next

Edo Senator, Neda Imasuen Defects To APC, Says LP In Shreds, No Direction

Don't Miss

Akwa Ibom Commissioner Resigns After Gov’s Defection To APC

Comments

Politics

In Defence Of Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe: The Generational Shift Reshaping Edo Politics

Published

18 hours ago

May 27, 2026

Editor

By DAN Osa-Ogbegie

For decades, Edo politics remained trapped within a narrow and predictable cycle of political recycling. The same ageing actors moved endlessly from one office to another, from one administration to the next, and from one political alignment to another, as though leadership in Edo State had become the exclusive inheritance of a permanent political aristocracy.

Meanwhile, thousands of intelligent, energetic, and capable young Edo people watched helplessly from the margins while opportunities for leadership, governance, party administration, and public service remained tightly controlled by individuals whose political relevance dated back several decades.

That unhealthy political culture is now gradually changing.

Today, one of the most important political transformations taking place within the All Progressives Congress in Edo State is the deliberate transition from recycled political gerontocracy to a younger generation of political actors. That transition is unfolding under the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State and Leader of the APC in Edo State, together with the State Chairman of the party, Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Predictably, such a shift has unsettled entrenched interests.

Those who became accustomed to monopolising political relevance naturally feel threatened by the emergence of a younger generation that is increasingly assertive, visible, influential, and institutionally empowered. Yet, history teaches a simple lesson: no political structure survives indefinitely without renewal.

No serious political party can continue recycling the same exhausted political machinery forever while expecting innovation, grassroots energy, modern governance ideas, and long-term political sustainability.

That reality appears to be clearly understood by Governor Monday Okpebholo and Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Much of the criticism unfairly directed at Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe in recent times stems from the fact that he has become one of the visible faces of this generational transition within Edo APC. Beneath the noise, propaganda, and political bitterness lies an undeniable truth: the party is consciously opening spaces for younger people in ways not seen for many years.

From the youthful Deputy Chairman of APC in Edo State, Sylvester Aigboboh, to several younger commissioners, Special Advisers, members of the State Executive Council, board chairmen, local government administrators, and strategic appointees across government, the evidence of deliberate political renewal is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

In Uhunmwode Local Government Area, Hon. Austin Imafidon has emerged as one of the young faces of focused governance and grassroots administration. Beyond politics, he has already established himself successfully in business, bringing into governance the mindset of productivity, enterprise, and modern administrative engagement.

In Etsako, Hon. Sunny Ekpeson has continued to attract national attention as the youngest ALGON Chairman in Nigeria, representing a clear departure from the era where local government leadership was treated as the permanent preserve of ageing political operators disconnected from younger demographics.

In Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Hon. Eric Osawaru represents another example of the younger political generation now entrusted with leadership responsibilities, while in Oredo Local Government Area, Engr. Gabriel Iduseri equally reflects the growing confidence being reposed in younger administrators within the APC structure.

In Owan, Hon. Aitalegbe Ernest, popularly known as “China Boy,” has also emerged as one of the prominent young political figures gaining traction as the incoming Chairman of the local government, further reinforcing the expanding generational transition currently taking shape across Edo State.

The same pattern is visible across government institutions and strategic agencies.

Pastor Stanley Dave Ighodaro, a successful entrepreneur with thriving business interests in Europe, now heads the Edo State Parks and Gardens Agency. His emergence reflects an increasingly important shift towards bringing professionally exposed and globally minded younger individuals into governance and public administration.

Similarly, Kassim Otono, who serves as Special Adviser on Oil and Gas to the Executive Governor of Edo State, represents another example of younger technocratic involvement within the present administration. His inclusion within such a strategic sector underscores the growing confidence being placed in younger professionals and politically aware technocrats within government.

This is how enduring institutions are built.

A political party that refuses to regenerate itself eventually becomes intellectually stagnant, structurally weak, and electorally disconnected from evolving social realities.

Governor Monday Okpebholo deserves commendation for recognising that governance in a rapidly changing society cannot remain permanently tied to political methods and leadership assumptions developed several decades ago. Contemporary governance demands adaptability, technological awareness, stronger grassroots engagement, administrative energy, and a deeper connection with younger populations.

Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe equally deserves credit for helping stabilise the party while managing this difficult but necessary transition process. Generational shifts are never easy within political systems historically dominated by established interests. Resistance is inevitable. Political resentment is expected. Internal anxieties naturally emerge whenever old monopolies begin to weaken.

Leadership, however, requires courage.

The recently concluded primaries further revealed this evolving direction within the APC. The emergence of candidates such as Rt. Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Osazee Igbinovia, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu, Omosede Igbinedion, Sir Lucky Eseigbe, and Odianosen Okojie reflects a growing political philosophy that increasingly values capacity, grassroots relevance, contemporary appeal, and generational continuity.

Equally symbolic is the emergence of several young Acting Local Government Council Chairmen who are now candidates of the party in the forthcoming local government elections. That development sends a powerful message across Edo State that political participation is gradually becoming more accessible to younger people with competence, commitment, and organisational value.

For too long, many young people in Edo politics were reduced to political spectators, social media defenders, praise singers, or election-day foot soldiers while actual power remained tightly guarded elsewhere. Such a model was never sustainable.

A society that continuously sidelines its younger generation ultimately weakens its own political future.

The ongoing transition within Edo APC does not amount to hostility towards elders or experienced political actors. Experience remains valuable. Elder statesmen still possess institutional memory and political wisdom that younger actors can benefit from immensely. Mentorship, however, must never become political suffocation. Guidance must never evolve into permanent political domination.

Every generation deserves the opportunity to participate meaningfully in shaping the future it will eventually inherit.

That is precisely why the current direction of the APC leadership in Edo State deserves objective acknowledgement rather than emotional hostility.

Many of those attacking Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe today are not truly angry about party administration. Their deeper discomfort arises from the reality that political influence is gradually shifting away from old centres of control towards a newer generation of actors who may no longer depend entirely on traditional political gatekeepers for relevance or survival.

Societies evolve.

Political cultures evolve.

Leadership itself evolves.

No generation owns political power forever.

Ultimately, the future of Edo State cannot be built exclusively around recycled political veterans whose greatest political moments belong largely to the past. A forward-looking society must continuously create room for younger leadership, newer ideas, fresh administrative energy, and modern political thinking.

That future is already unfolding within the APC in Edo State.

History may eventually remember Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe and Governor Monday Okpebholo as central figures in the difficult but necessary political transition that began moving Edo away from recycled political dominance towards a broader and younger leadership culture capable of preparing the state for a different era.

Daniel Aroren Noah Osa-Ogbegie is a Benin based legal practitioner and public intellectual from Uhunmwode Local Government Area.

Politics

JUST IN: Omo-Agege Resigns From APC

Published

19 hours ago

May 27, 2026

Editor

Former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect.

In a letter to the Chairman of Orogun Ward 2, Ughelli North Local Government, Delta State, dated May 22, 2026, Omo-Agege said after reviewing recent developments within the ruling party and consulting with his associates and supporters, it is clear that his political objectives and those of his constituents are better served outside the party.

“I will not remain a sitting duck in a party where I cannot advance the interests of Delta Central, Delta State and Nigeria,” he said.

On Ovie Omo-Agege’s castle-in-the-air
“I thank the APC for the opportunity to serve as Deputy President of the 9th Senate. I wish the party well and have requested that my name be removed from all membership records, registers, and communication lists,” Omo-Agege added.

Omo-Agege, in a statement by his media adviser, Sunny Areh, affirmed that his focus remains on delivering development and effective representation for Delta Central, Delta State, and Nigeria. He added that he will seek to pursue these goals outside the APC.

Details shortly…

Politics

Amaechi Rejects ‘Concocted’ ADC Presidential Primary Results

Published

2 days ago

May 26, 2026

Editor

Former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary election, describing the exercise as deeply flawed and lacking credibility.

The ADC on Monday conducted a nationwide direct primary to select its candidate for the 2027 presidential election, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Managing Director of the defunct FSB International Bank, and Amaechi emerging as the leading contenders.

Reacting in a statement issued on Tuesday, Amaechi alleged widespread voter disenfranchisement, manipulation and serious electoral malpractice during the exercise, insisting that the results being announced were “concocted” and did not reflect the will of party members.

According to him, the primary process was compromised from the outset, with several genuine party members allegedly denied the opportunity to participate in the election across different states.

Amaechi accused some party officials of undermining the integrity of the exercise through what he described as coordinated irregularities capable of damaging the credibility of the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He maintained that the conduct of the primary fell short of the democratic standards, transparency and fairness expected in a credible internal party election.

The former Rivers State governor called on the leadership of the ADC to urgently address the alleged irregularities and protect the democratic rights of party members.

He warned that failure to uphold transparency and internal democracy could weaken public confidence in the party and its ability to present itself as a viable alternative ahead of the next general elections.

Amaechi’s rejection of the process is expected to deepen internal tensions within the ADC as opposition realignments and political calculations ahead of 2027 continue to gather momentum.