River State Politics: Tinubu was my only Savior Says Fubara

In a startlingly frank assessment of the volatile political landscape in Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara publicly credited President Bola Tinubu with saving his administration from collapse, stating emphatically, “I would’ve been ex,governor if not for Tinubu.” The confession, made during a public gathering, laid bare the intense power struggle that characterized the early months of his tenure, cementing President Tinubu’s role as the definitive political arbiter in the crisis.

Governor Fubara’s tenure was almost immediately plunged into deep political turmoil, characterized by an unprecedented and open rift with his political predecessor and benefactor, Nyesom Wike, who currently serves as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. The crisis saw an attempted impeachment process initiated by a faction of the State House of Assembly loyal to the FCT Minister, a move that threatened to prematurely end Governor Fubara’s time in office.

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It was during this period of extreme vulnerability, with his mandate hanging in the balance, that President Tinubu intervened. Governor Fubara explicitly acknowledged that without the President’s direct and impartial intervention, the forces against him would have succeeded in illegally removing him from office.

The critical role played by President Tinubu involved brokering a peace agreement between the warring factions in Abuja. This intervention, widely seen as a necessary move to protect the stability of the state and the integrity of the democratic process, included several key resolutions aimed at de,escalating the crisis:

• Halting Impeachment Proceedings: The peace deal effectively neutralized the impeachment threat hanging over Governor Fubara.
• Restoration of Peace: It provided a temporary, albeit fragile, political truce, allowing the Governor to resume some semblance of governance.

Governor Fubara’s declaration confirms that the solution to the internal political warfare in Rivers State was not found through local resolution or institutional safeguards, but through the decisive authority and political influence of the highest office in the nation. The statement underscores the immense power dynamics at play in River State Politics, revealing President Tinubu as the ultimate Savior and indispensable pillar of his administration’s survival.