Riversalsoneedslagostreatment

President Bola Tinubu is expected to bring his magic touch to fix the Rivers State political crisis just as he did in dousing the heat rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly.

In the Lagos case, the presidents intervention was in favour of reinstating Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker while his opponent, Mojisola Meranda, reverts to her position as Deputy Speaker. Tinubu soothed frayed nerves in the two camps by inviting them to the State House in Abuja and the two sides came out of the meeting singing his praises, showing the crisis was apparently over.

Following the Supreme Court verdict that recognised the Martin Amaewhule-led 27-member House of Assembly and the stoppage of federal allocations to Rivers State until the Courts verdicts are fully implemented, the question arose as to how to proceed without worsening the situation.

While Governor Siminalayi Fubara had pledged to implement the judgement to the letter and cooperate with the pro-Wike House of Assembly, the latter appears determined to double down on the advantage offered by the verdict. This is understandable because Governor Fubara had used his executive powers to sideline them since the crisis started about 16 months ago. They appear set to start impeachment proceedings against him.

This situation is stoking ethnic sentiments that were largely under wraps in the state since the return of civil rule in 1999. Some pro-Fubara Ijaw groups have been breathing fire and brimstone if the governor is removed, a threat that Wike waved aside in a recent media briefing.