President Bola Tinubu is expected to bring his “magic touch” to fix the Rivers State political crisis just as he did in dousing the heat rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly.
In the Lagos case, the president’s intervention was in favour of reinstating Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker while his opponent, Mojisola Meranda, reverts to her position as Deputy Speaker. Tinubu soothed frayed nerves in the two camps by inviting them to the State House in Abuja and the two sides came out of the meeting singing his praises, showing the crisis was apparently over.
Following the Supreme Court verdict that recognised the Martin Amaewhule-led 27-member House of Assembly and the stoppage of federal allocations to Rivers State until the Court’s verdicts are fully implemented, the question arose as to how to proceed without worsening the situation.
While Governor Siminalayi Fubara had pledged to implement the judgement to the letter and cooperate with the pro-Wike House of Assembly, the latter appears determined to double down on the advantage offered by the verdict. This is understandable because Governor Fubara had used his executive powers to sideline them since the crisis started about 16 months ago. They appear set to start impeachment proceedings against him.
This situation is stoking ethnic sentiments that were largely under wraps in the state since the return of civil rule in 1999. Some pro-Fubara Ijaw groups have been breathing fire and brimstone if the governor is removed, a threat that Wike waved aside in a recent media briefing.
We are worried over this unhealthy build-up. We strongly believe that the Supreme Court verdict, no matter how unpalatable it might seem to some, can be implemented without compromising the peace and development of Rivers State. This can only be achieved if all sides resist the temptation of riding rough-shod over the others to press home their seeming advantage.
In this kind of situation, “might” may not be “right”. The two sides may not be in the mood to exercise diplomacy and implement the verdict through consensus. That was exactly the situation that the Lagos Assemblymen and women found themselves in until the president intervened in a fatherly manner.
We call on him to adopt the same attitude towards the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict in Rivers State. We suggest the president holds private talks with Governor Fubara and Minister Wike and commits them to peace and hold them responsible in case of a breach of the peace.
All court cases should be withdrawn, the impeachment threat against the Governor must be dropped, while the entire House of Assembly should reconvene under Amaewhule. Outstanding entitlements of the 27 lawmakers must be paid.
No side should be allowed to push its luck too far. Everything must be done to preserve the peace.
