A former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mark Jacob, has said ...ure of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, after the meeting with President Bola Tinubu may suggest a reconciliation but suspending elected government officials is anti-democratic.
Naijaonpoint reports that Tinubu, late Thursday, met with Fubara, Wike, and suspended members of the Rivers Assembly at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting took place three months after Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers Assembly, following a heated political crisis in the oil-producing state.
After the meeting, Wike, Fubara, and the suspended lawmakers were all beaming with smiles.
While addressing journalists, Wike said they have resolved their differences and have agreed to “work together with the governor, and the governor has also agreed to work with all of us”.
He added, “We are members of the same political family – yes, just like humans, we all have disagreements, and then you also have the time to settle your disagreements, and that has been finally concluded today. We have come to report to Mr President that this is what we have agreed.”
However, the ex-PDP legal adviser, in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, stated that the reconciliation does not change the fact that an aberration occurred in Rivers State.
Citing the recent defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Jacob also stated that he will not be surprised if Fubara joins the ruling party.
He said, “So if they dangle a carrot to Siminalayi and tell him to come over to APC so that he can reclaim his seat, I will not be shocked if he agrees, because it’s all about me. ‘What will I gain?
“That they are shaking hands and they are smiling doesn’t change the fact that there is an illegality imposed on River State, and that is an aberration and it’s something that should never have happened in the first place.
“So, for me, it’s still drama, and we’ll wait to see what comes out of it in the next few days, but it’s terrible that it ever happened.
“There should never be a situation where democracy can be hijacked by a democratically elected president. It should not happen in Nigeria, particularly.”