The Director of News at Television Continental (TVC), Babajide Otitoju, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not allow the political tension in Rivers State to persist, following his return to the country.
Otitoju made this known during an interview on TVC on Sunday morning.
According to the senior journalist, the President now has the opportunity to directly address the escalating political crisis in Rivers State, especially as Governor Siminalayi Fubara has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“President Tinubu is now back from his trip. Fubara has joined his political party and cannot watch what is going on in Rivers continue,” Otitoju said.
Otitoju expressed confidence that the President would intervene by engaging key actors in the crisis, particularly the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
“I trust him to be able to call Wike and appeal to him that, in the interest of peace, this impeachment notice should be withdrawn,” he stated.
While acknowledging arguments that the President should allow the Rivers State governor to handle the situation independently, Otitoju insisted that Tinubu has a broader responsibility as the nation’s leader.
“People will argue that the president should not call them but leave Fubara to deal with the matter after all he had intervened in the past and Fubara didn’t do anything.
“But Tinubu is the president of everyone. He has to play the fatherly role to resolve this dispute. Just as he has done in the past. I trust him,” Otitoju added.
The Rivers State House of Assembly recently initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara, a move that has further heightened political tension in the state.