BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – In a move political commentators have described as building and expanding the support base of the embattled Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the River State Labour Party (LP) candidate in the 2023 gubernatorial election, Beatrice Itubo, has withdrawn her case against the Governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The LP governorship flag-bearer disclosed that the decision to withdraw the case was informed by the high-level consultation and engagements among the Party’s stakeholders in Rivers State and nationally.
Speaking on Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics, Itubo said she withdrew her petition against the governor’s election at the Supreme Court to give peace a chance in the South-South State, adding that the decision was taken “because of the volatile nature, and the tensed nature” of current events in Rivers State.
She further stated thus; “You can’t say you want peace and you are still in court. Sir Fubara is a democrat and pro-workers and that is why I am doing this.”
Explaining that she joined the governorship race to take care of workers’ welfare in the State, the Labour Party candidate said the Governor has shown signs that he would take issues concerning workers’ welfare seriously and therefore needed the support of all stakeholders in Rivers State to succeed in the task ahead.
However, while urging the governor to explore ways of resolving his differences with his godfather and immediate past Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike, Itubo noted that the feud between the two political gladiators would deprive the Rivers citizens of the dividends of democracy if not quickly addressed by all concerned.
Hear her; “I’m using this medium to call on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister to come back to his godson (Fubara) so that they can amicably mend their fences and move forward”
The LP flag bearer spoke against the backdrop of the ongoing political crisis that has turned Rivers State into a theatre of the absurd in the last three months with Wike and Fubara split at loggerheads over the running of the State affairs.
In the process, 27 lawmakers in the State House of Assembly defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where their mentor Barrister Wike is currently on duty tour as the FCT Minister.
Besides the split in the legislature and the demolition of the State Assembly complex, as well as rumours of an impeachment plot against Governor Fubara, the State has also witnessed an eruption of resignations from the Fubara-led State Executive Council (SEC) by those suspected to be loyalists for the former Governor Wike.
