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A former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kola Ologbodiyan, has described President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the lingering conflict in Rivers State as an abuse of power.
The political feud between the immediate-past Governor of Rivers State and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has been a major distraction to governance in the state lately.
The conflict has led to the demolition of the State House of Assembly and the defection of 27 members of the House from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
The problem festered last week when newly appointed commissioners started tendering their resignation letters to the state governor.
As the crisis continued to deepen, President Tinubu on Monday, December 18, 2023, stepped in to resolve the rift between Wike and Fubara, who are the main characters in the Rivers crisis.
President Tinubu’s meeting with Wike, Fubara and other stakeholders from Rivers State took place at the President’s office.
At the end of the meeting, the President in an eight-point resolution signed by the warring parties, ordered Fubara to immediately withdraw all lawsuits instituted in the courts regarding the crisis in Rivers.
The resolution also mandated Fubara to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill he had earlier presented to the four-member state House of Assembly to the full House.
Furthermore, in the eight-point resolution, it is stated that “The leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly as led by the Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule shall be recognised alongside the 27 members who resigned from the PDP.
However, Olongbodiyan has faulted the resolutions initiated during Fubara and Wike’s meeting with President Tinubu on Monday.
In a tweet on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, the PDP chieftain described the resolution as unconstitutional, adding that, by law, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should hold a fresh election for the seats of the 27 lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the APC.
He also cautioned President Tinubu not to turn the country into a banana republic where anything goes.
Ologbondiyan tweeted, “The Asiwaju Declarations on Rivers State are unconstitutional and a wholesome abuse of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The law is that @inecnigeria holds election in the vacant seats of the Rivers House of Assembly in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), @officialABAT, as a major beneficiary of our constitutional democracy, must not be allowed to turn our nation into a banana republic where anything goes.”
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Ologbondiyan had earlier downplayed the defection of the 27 lawmakers in Rivers, saying the PDP would remain strong despite the defection of the lawmakers.
In a tweet last week Monday, the party chieftain said the PDP had overcome more dangerous challenges, adding that the people are the power of the party.