PANDEF Speaks On Fubara’s Assembly Blockage Hours After Meeting Tinubu

The Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF) has strongly criticized the action of the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly, describing it as “provocative” after lawmakers prevented Governor Siminalayi Fubara from entering the Assembly Complex to present the 2025 budget.

Reacting to the development on Wednesday, a PANDEF chieftain, Anabs Sara-Igbe, told Vanguard in an exclusive telephone interview that denying the governor access was not just an insult to Fubara but to the entire people of Rivers State.

“The Governor was elected by millions of Rivers people. As the chief executive officer of the state, he has unhindered access to all the facilities within the state. Blocking him from entering the complex is a direct insult and embarrassment to the people of Rivers State,” Sara-Igbe stated.

Tinubu’s Meeting And Rivers Political Crisis

Naija News reports that PANDEF’s reaction comes just hours after President Bola Tinubu held a high-level meeting with the leaders of the forum at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

During the meeting, Tinubu advised the leaders to urge Fubara to honor the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, shortly after the meeting, pro-Wike lawmakers reportedly locked the governor out of the Assembly Complex.

Sara-Igbe condemned the actions of the lawmakers, insisting that Fubara has demonstrated his willingness for peace, but the opposition remains unyielding.

“It is now very clear that the Governor is ready for peace. But these people are not ready for peace. You can see that by their action. How can you bar a sitting Governor from gaining access to a facility that belongs to the state? The Governor continues to tow the path of peace despite the insult and provocation. I appeal that he implements all the decisions stipulated by the Supreme Court judgment, even though I do not agree with some of those decisions. Let him implement them. The Rivers people are watching. The world is watching,” he added.

PANDEF Warns Wike Over Impeachment Comment

Sara-Igbe also reacted to a recent statement by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who declared that Fubara’s impeachment would not cause a crisis, saying, “heaven will not fall.”

The PANDEF chieftain warned that making inflammatory remarks against the Ijaw people could escalate tensions in the region.

“He should remember that during the time of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the production rate of crude dropped drastically from 2.4 million barrels per day to a paltry 700,000 bpd until the elders of the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta pleaded with the various militant groups, including the Avengers and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), to stay action.

“The nation’s economy today is at a sad point. We don’t want anything to happen to crude oil production. The Minister should be mindful of his utterances. While we plead for all parties in the crisis to follow the path of peace, we all should also mind what we say per time,” Sara-Igbe cautioned.

The ongoing crisis in Rivers State continues to deepen, raising concerns about governance stability in the oil-rich state.