An aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised what he described as a “shambolic deal” by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reinstate Siminalayi Fubara as Governor of Rivers State, calling it a politically motivated move aimed at undermining democratic principles.
The aide argued that the reported reinstatement is an admission that Fubara’s earlier suspension—allegedly due to security concerns—was baseless and politically orchestrated. He pointed to the rising wave of killings in Benue State, including the massacre of over 200 people in Yelewata, as evidence that genuine security threats have been ignored elsewhere without similar punitive action.
He further alleged that the suspension was tied to the failed ambitions of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to retain control over Rivers State’s resources. According to him, the development is also part of Tinubu’s broader strategy to bring the oil-rich state under the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The statement also criticized the move as an infringement on the constitutional rights of Governor Fubara and a usurpation of the will of the Rivers people and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that only the electorate—not a political caucus—should decide Fubara’s political future.
