Prof. Benjamin Okaba, the National President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), which serves as the umbrella body for the Ijaw nation, during an interview with Sunday Vanguard, said that all the hypotheses had now been tested and, according to him, they favoured Fubara.
Recall that Governor Siminalayi Fubara was suspended, and State of Emergency was declared in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, due to the political crisis between the governor and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
According to The Vanguard, it was reported that during the interview, Okaba, expressed the view that President Tinubu had no reason to delay Fubara’s reinstatement as governor.
He said, “Mr. President is a democrat. He was a governor. He, now, knows that the Rivers people love their governor. He also knows that terrible lies were told about the governor to make people despise him and get him out of office through impeachment. The president knows that the suspension is an aberration. He should waste no further time in reversing that decision and returning the governor to power. Posterity is a good judge, and the president will want history to be soft on him.”
Prof. Benjamin Okaba, during a recent television program, clearly stated that there was nothing wrong with Governor Fubara joining the APC, which is the president’s party. He has been one of the Ijaw leaders who have consistently supported Fubara throughout his political challenges.
His suggestion that the governor could leave the PDP, the party through which he came into power, was seen as an indication of the deeper political maneuverings taking place behind the scenes.
While responding to Fubara’s recent meeting with President Tinubu in Lagos, Okaba remarked that there was nothing wrong with such a move. He emphasized the need to be realistic and to understand the nature of Nigerian politics. According to him, the country operates what he described as a “malutocracy,” arguing that there were no true political parties anymore—only platforms for political affiliations.
He explained that these platforms merely served as vehicles for politicians to move from one party to another, often without ideological consistency.
He also pointed out that state governors and former vice presidential candidates frequently switched parties, even to the extent that one governor reportedly threatened to sack anyone who refused to move with him.
