A former president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Udengs Eradiri, has advised suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to stop turning the reconciliation process in the state into a political show.
In a statement released on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Eradiri said Fubara has not shown genuine commitment to peace since his first meeting with his former political mentor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
“I was disturbed, shocked and surprised to hear that the suspended Governor Fubara has yet to hold reconciliatory meetings with some critical stakeholders such as the Speaker and members of the suspended House of Assembly, aggrieved Rivers elders and local government chairmen who were in the same political family with him,” Eradiri said.
He criticised the governor for what he described as “reconciliation on television and radio,” echoing similar concerns raised by Wike in a recent media interview.
“This for me is a low mark and does not sit well with the required antidote to resolve the crisis and return democracy to Rivers,” Eradiri added.
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Eradiri, who previously served as Commissioner for Youths and later Environment in Bayelsa State, urged Fubara to lead with sincerity and stop the public showmanship that he says is worsening the political crisis.
“Fubara must discourage his supporters from engaging in similar political showbiz and busybody that worsened the crisis in Rivers,” he said.
He also called on the governor to engage with other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors and persuade them to withdraw a legal case they filed at the Supreme Court against President Bola Tinubu. The case seeks to stop an emergency rule in Rivers State.
Eradiri explained, “There is nothing the President can do on this matter because that case at the Supreme Court has tied his hands. Governor Fubara is expected to reach out to the governors to withdraw the matter as part of the reconciliation process.”
He warned that without real peace talks, Fubara’s return to office could still lead to trouble, including the risk of impeachment.
“If he is reinstated without genuine reconciliation, the bad blood will continue and may lead to his impeachment,” he said.
Eradiri concluded by warning that a lack of true reconciliation would push Rivers State back into violence and undermine the efforts already made to protect democratic governance.