Erstwhile governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Bayelsa State, Udengs Eradiri, has advised the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, to go out of his way and ensure wholesome reconciliation with all aggrieved political actors in the state.
In a statement issued in Yenagoa on Wednesday, Eradiri warned that any half -hearted reconciliation efforts could harm the governor after being reinstated to his position.
Eradiri expressed disappointment over what he called the politicisation of the reconciliation required to restore democratic governance in Rivers State.
He knocked Gov. Fubara, for not sincerely displaying the expected willingness and commitment to genuine reconciliation.
the LP stalwart said he was disturbed to hear that Gov. Fubara had not deepened the reconciliation process after his first meeting with his estranged godfather and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
“I was disturbed, shocked, and surprised to hear that the suspended Governor Fubara has yet to hold reconciliatory meetings with some critical stakeholders such as the speaker and members of the suspended state House of Assembly, aggrieved Rivers elders and those local government chairmen, who were once in the same political family with him.
“The recent media chat of Wike is instructive and revealing, especially where he said that Governor Fubara was doing reconciliation on television and radio.
“This, for me, is a low mark and does not sit well with the required antidote to resolve the crisis and return democracy to Rivers,” he said.
He advised Gov. Fubara to sit up, show leadership by owning the reconciliation process and avoiding the optics of showmanship capable of truncating the Rivers peace process.
“Suddenly, those who called themselves Fubara’s have resumed their singing and dancing and shows where they make remarks and cast innuendos inimical to any peace process.
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“Fubara must discourage his supporters from engaging in similar political showbiz and busybodyism that worsened the crisis in Rivers,” he said.
Eradiri said Gov. Fubara should be thinking of engaging with governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to withdraw the case they instituted at the Supreme Court against President Bola Tinubu on the declaration of emergency rule.
He said: “This is where, I think by now the reconciliation should progress to. There is nothing the president can do on this matter because the case at the Supreme Court has tied his hands.
“The matter is sub-judice and Fubara is expected to reach out to the governors to withdraw the matter as part of the reconciliation process.
“Governor Fubara should also know that if he is reinstated without genuine reconciliation, the bad blood will continue and may lead to his impeachment.
“Lack of reconciliation will only return the state to a violent part and make nonsense of the emergency rule instituted to save him from impeachment.”
