Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2023 Rivers State election, has shared his perspective on why Governor Siminalayi Fubara may have ignored President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the state.
In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, President Tinubu addressed the escalating situation in Rivers, expressing deep concern over the political instability. He specifically accused Governor Fubara of demolishing the State House of Assembly building and stated that his attempts to mediate a peaceful resolution had been disregarded.
Following his assessment of the situation, Tinubu announced a state of emergency in Rivers State, effective from March 18.
Reacting to the development, Tonye Cole stated, “I believe both parties have to be punished” if they truly ignored the President.
He continued, “But I don’t think that the President said that—if I heard him right. I may be wrong; I may have to look at it again. But if I heard him correctly, I believe he said that the person or the side that was ignoring him was the governor and his team. That he had spoken to them, and they ignored him.
“I believe that’s what I heard. If that is the case, then the question would be: what were the conditions that were put forward that then led him to be ignored?
“A president is a very powerful force, and if a state governor chooses to ignore a president, then it must mean one of two things. Either the solution presented to the governor was so one-sided that he felt it was unfair and not worth obeying, or he felt that the solution did not address the issue at hand at all.
“Now, whether to ignore it or go back to address it would be a different issue.”
The crisis in Rivers State continues to draw national attention, with political actors weighing in on the implications of the state of emergency and its impact on governance in the oil-rich region.
