Rivers: ‘It Will Be Disappointing If Tinubu Does Worse Than Obasanjo’ – Laolu Akande

Former presidential spokesman, Laolu Akande, has weighed in on the comparison between President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and former President, Olusegun Obasanjo’s similar actions in Plateau and Ekiti States, cautioning against lowering the standards of governance.

Naijaonpoint reports that Akande, who served in the office of the immediate-past Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, made this known during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily, on Friday, April 11, 2025.

According to the former presidential aide, it would be disappointing if Tinubu does worse than Obasanjo.

He said, “I know people are saying Obasanjo did worse, but Obasanjo and Tinubu have different pedigrees in Nigeria’s politics. It will be utterly disappointing if Tinubu does worse than Obasanjo.”

While discussing the growing public concern over Tinubu’s silence on the appointment of sole administrators for local government areas in Rivers State by the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), Akande asserted that the President might not know about the decision.

Akande explained how decisions are made within the nation’s corridor of power, stressing that many actions were often carried out in the name of the President without his direct approval or instigation.

He said, “Let me explain how the corridors of power operate. A lot of things get done in the name of the president that ultimately the president may not be the one instigating. But what you then find is that the president, depending on how he thinks about it, may decide to act like he didn’t see it—or, if he really feels it’s not something he approves, then he withdraws.”

Pressed by the show host on why Nigerians might interpret the president’s silence as complicity, Akande responded, “The president has been away on a retreat (in France), so let’s see what happens because there’s quite a bit of clamour. There are those who still believe that the president will probably see reasons. I know some of his allies who don’t agree with this thing (state of emergency in Rivers State), and they told him that he shouldn’t do it, so I think the president himself is trying to sort this thing out.”