An Invitation, a Handover, and a Political Chess Game in Rivers
By: Abudu Olalekan
The political air in Rivers State is thick. You can almost taste the tension. Thursday is the day. The big day. That’s when the state of emergency is set to end, and power is supposed to be handed back. It’s a moment everyone has been waiting for, a return to some kind of normalcy after a turbulent six months.
But this is Rivers politics. Normal is never really on the menu.
Just as the state was bracing for a smooth transition, the All Progressives Congress (APC) decided to stir the pot. And they did it on national television. It was a bold play, you have to admit. The party’s spokesman in the state, a man named Darlington Nwauju, went on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief and basically rolled out the red carpet for the suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
He didn’t just hint at it. He said it with his whole chest.
“If I were the governor of Rivers State, on my return on Thursday, I would announce my defection to the All Progressives Congress,” Nwauju declared. It was less of an analysis and more of a direct, audacious invitation. A public courtship. He made it crystal clear: “I think the governor should join the APC, and we would gladly receive the governor into our party.”
Just like that. Come on over, the water’s fine.
What’s the Catch? Leadership of the Rivers APC
So, what’s the deal? What would Fubara get if he actually took them up on this wild offer? Well, according to Nwauju, he’d get the keys to the kingdom. When the show’s host asked if Fubara would become the leader of the party in Rivers if he defected, the answer was blunt. It’s automatic.
“By the convention of our party, if he joins the All Progressives Congress, he becomes the leader of the party,” he explained. No primaries, no internal politics, no fuss. Just walk in and take the top spot. It’s an incredibly tempting offer for any politician, let alone one who’s been in the eye of a political storm.
Of course, there’s always other business to attend to. Nwauju also touched on the six-month tenure of the state’s administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.). He said the APC hasn’t formally asked for an account of his stewardship. He believes that’s a job for the feds. The budget he used, after all, came from the National Assembly.
“There is a committee from the House of Representatives overseeing the period of emergency,” Nwauju stated. “I do expect that the committee should be able to do due diligence, come up with that report, and tell Nigerians what they found out.” Basically, let the folks in Abuja handle the books.
Meanwhile, the main characters in this drama are on their way back to the stage. Both President Bola Tinubu and Governor Fubara are expected to land back in Nigeria on Tuesday, just in time for the Thursday handover.
Even the President is cutting his vacation in France short. He was supposed to be away until September 10 but is heading back to Abuja early. Fubara, for his part, is returning from London. Their arrivals are only turning up the heat. You have to wonder what conversations are being had behind the scenes.
As the administrator in Rivers makes the final preparations for the handover, the entire state, and maybe the whole country, is watching. An invitation has been sent. The pieces are moving on the board. The big question now is, what will Siminalayi Fubara’s next move be? Thursday can’t come soon enough.
