Connect with us

Politics

Tinubu not meddling in Rivers crises – Group tells Dokubo

Published

4 months ago

on

The Rivers Restoration Movement (RRM) has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu is taking sides in the political crises in Rivers.

A former leader of Niger-Delta agitators, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, had accused Tinubu of supporting the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to destabilise the administration of Rivers Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

Dokubo also criticised Tinubu’s decision to dissolve the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, labelling the move a ”total betrayal’’ of the Niger- Delta people.

Reacting, RRM’s Director-General, Johnson Georgewill, in statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday, dismissed Dokubo’s remarks as baseless.

He said that Tinubu had been a proponent of peaceful resolution between Wike and Fubara to address the political turmoil in Rivers.

“RRM, on behalf of the people of Rivers, takes exception to the insult and false accusation by Dokubo that President Tinubu is supporting Wike to destabilise Rivers.

“This unwarranted attack on Tinubu aims to discredit a president who is a known democrat and staunch believer in the rule of law.

“We urge the public to disregard Dokubo’s statements, as Tinubu would never support any illegality in Rivers.”

He decried Dokubo’s threats, particularly the statement that ‘‘something will happen’’ if Fubara was removed from office, cautioning against incitement.

Georgewill also discredited the former agitators leader’s claim of spending more than 2 million dollars to support Tinubu’s presidential campaign in 2023.

“RRM assures Nigerians that Dokubo’s threats are empty and hold no place in our constitutional democracy.

“We encourage him to redirect his efforts towards advising his benefactor, whom he did not support in 2023, to abide by the rule of law rather than indulge in sentimental rhetoric.”

ALSO READ:  Fubara slams critics, says those making noise for recognition have lost it

Highlighting the importance of stability in Rivers due to its critical role in Nigeria’s economy, Georgewill said there was need to obey the law.

The RRM boss described Dokubo as an opportunist and attention seeker who held no significant political value in the state.

“Rivers state operates under a constitutional democracy; soon, the law will take its full course,” Georgewill said. (NAN)

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Rivers Assembly Issues Arrest Warrant For Electoral Chief

Published

1 hour ago

on

March 10, 2025

By

The Rivers State House of Assembly has issued a warrant for the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Justice Adolphus Enebeli (rtd), to appear before it.

The Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly issued the arrest warrant on Monday during plenary, after the expiration of its 72-hour ultimatum for the electoral chief to appear before the House.

Enebeli had fixed August 9, 2025, to conduct a fresh Local Government (LG) poll in the state following a Supreme Court verdict that annulled the October 5, 2024 local government poll conducted in the state.

The Amaewhule-led Assembly had vowed to probe the conduct of Enebeli regarding the conduct of the annulled LG poll last year.

Over the weekend, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, invited members of the Assembly to a dialogue on the implementation the Supreme Court’s verdict.

The Supreme Court had also barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Accountant General of the Federation and other agencies from releasing funds to the government of Rivers State until it purges itself of what the court described as flagrant disobedience to court orders.

In the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye, the five-man panel of the court had unanimously dismissed the cross-appeal filed by Fubara challenging the validity of the House of Assembly presided over by Amaewhule as the Speaker.

In dismissing Fubara’s appeal, the court ordered Amaewhule to resume sitting immediately with other elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

ALSO READ:  Former Kano State Governor's Defection To PDP Fixed For Monday
Continue Reading

News

BREAKING: Nasir El-Rufai Resigns From APC, Joins SDP

Published

3 hours ago

on

March 10, 2025

By

An ally of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has confirmed the defection move of the former governor of Kaduna State amid a viral social media letter.

In a letter making the rounds on social media, El-Rufai purportedly announced his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party which he is a founding member.

Parts of the letter entitled: “Onwards to the future”, reads: “As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC. It had been my hope since 2013 that my personal values and that of the APC will align up to the time I choose to retire from politics.

“Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party. On my part, I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the capricious trajectory of the party. Therefore, at this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish. Today, the 10th of March 2025, I have submitted a letter resigning my membership of the APC to my ward in Kaduna, effective immediately. Subsequent to this, I had concluded consultations with my mentors, colleagues and loyalists alike about the future, and have decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and adopt it as the platform for our future political engagements and activities.”

ALSO READ:  Primate Ayodele's Warning: Why Ganduje Is Not The Right Choice For APC's Success

Muyiwa Adekeye, spokesperson of El-Rufai, did not respond to multiple messages seeking his reaction to the letter.

But sources in El-Rufai’s camp confirmed that all arrangements have been made for the former governor to submit his resignation letter to the APC at his ward in Kaduna.

An ally, who served as a commissioner under El-Rufai’s administration told Daily Trust that El-Rufai would be leaving the APC for the SDP today.

“Yes, we are all aware that he (El-Rufai) will tender his resignation from APC today, Monday, 10th March 2025, and join SDP. That is all we have been waiting for,” the source said.

The source further stated that El-Rufai’s supporters were not surprised by the leaked letter, as they were already aware of the development.

He said having worked closely with the former governor, he could vouch for the authenticity of the letter, which is yet to be posted on any of the social media platforms of El-Rufai, an avid social media user.

Continue Reading

Politics

Shehu Sani: Mistakes some activists made in 1999 still affecting Nigeria’s democracy

Published

8 hours ago

on

March 10, 2025

By

A human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has said the refusal to participate in politics in 1999 remained a majority mistake some pro-democracy activists made, with adverse effect on Nigeria’s democracy till today.

Sani, a former Kaduna Central Senatorial District Senator, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Sani recalled that after the struggle for return to civilian rule from the military in 1999, one of the pro-democracy activists then, Bola Tinubu, opted to join politics then.

He said while Tinubu joined politics, others like Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, Mike Ozekhome and himself continued in the struggle and refused to participate in politics.

The activist said that the Fawehinmi school of thought believed that they should continue to fight and advocate for social justice and human rights through activism rather than joining politics.

“On the other hand, Tinubu, a pro-democracy activist, emphasised the importance of political engagement and governance through establishment of political structures.

“The mistake some of us activists made in 1999 is still affecting democracy up till today. When it was time for transition to civil rule, we refused to stop (activism).

“Then, 98 per cent of the activists followed Gani and by the time we realised that the path would not take us so long, we decided to contest elections in 2003; even Gani, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba and Mike Ozekhome contested and performed woefully.

“At this time, Tinubu had already moved on from activism to being a state governor and today, he’s the president.

ALSO READ:  In Kano, Ganduje Hits Back At Governor-Elect Over Loan Request Advisory

“We took the wrong path as activists, I must say.

“Olisa Agbakoba and Gani Fawehinmi contested for president but they could not make it. Mike Ozekhome contested for governor in Edo, he too didn’t succeed; Femi Falana too contested for governor in Ekiti, he could not make it.

“But in the case of South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) never made the mistake made by Nigerian activists.

“ANC fought the apartheid government in South Africa; they transformed into a political party and took over power.

“Imagine if they said they would not go into transition and continue to fight, it would have been another party that would be in power and apartheid would have continued.

“A verse in the Bible says that there is time for everything. There was time for us to fight, which we did; and time for us to end the fight but we refused to end the fight,” he said.

Sani expressed the regret that the mistake made by many pro-democracy activists was still having adverse effect on Nigeria’s democracy up till today.

“”By the time we realised that we needed to take over political powers, all the political space had already been dominated by people who did not fight for democracy,” he said.

The former senator said that it was unfortunate that some people, including Sule Lamido, Jerry Gana and others who shared the same ideology with Tinubu in the past, are now far apart from him.

According to him, most of the people currently working with Tinubu do not share the same ideology with him, given his background as an activist.

ALSO READ:  Why there’s protracted political crisis in Rivers – APC Chairman

“The likes of Jerry Gana, Sule Lamido and others, who ought to have been with him today, are now at an inconvenient distance,” he said. (NAN)

Continue Reading