Tinubu ready to take tough action to resolve Rivers crisis —Presidency

The Presidency says President Bola Tinubu was ready to wield the big stick and take a tough action to resolve the political crisis that had rocked Rivers State in the past few weeks if the impasse had not been resolved and an agreement reached at a meeting held on Monday between the President, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, former Governor Peter Odili and other stakeholders.

Speaking in an interview on a television programme after the meeting, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said Tinubu had to play a fatherly role by intervening in the crisis because he is the father of the nation, but however noted that if the agreement had not been reached, he was ready to take a tough stance.

“The motive of the president is clearly in this case not a political one. He is the father of the nation; he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,” Ngelale said in the interview.

“It is the primary responsibility of his to ensure that there is peace and stability and security in all parts of the country.

“If he sees any sign that peace is breaking down in any part of the country, this is a President that will take action.

“And frankly, the resolution of the Rivers crisis is one that results from a series of interventions that he has made over the course of the last few months on this issue.

“Mr. President was fully ready and equipped to take a very hard action if this resolution had not been reached.

“It is to great relief of Rivers people and to Nigerians at large that you have a resolution in which nobody got exactly what they wanted; nobody got what they wanted.

“There was compromise involved. All sides of the political divide within that state have had to compromise to ensure that there is a fair resolution.

“Nigerians are going to see that the difference between what we have seen from this President as against previous presidents of the past 24 years is that when something is wrong, whether it involves a political party or not in any part of the country, as the father of the nation, he is going to call everybody to the table and he is going to get everybody to a common resolution in the interest of the Nigerian people,” Ngelale added.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now