Fubara will be Restored as Rivers Governor, Peace will Return, Assures Tompolo

Former Niger Delta warlord and highly respected traditional leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, as known as Tompolo, has at last broken his silence on the political unrest ravaging Rivers State, assuring that Governor Siminalayi Fubara will return to his seat and there will be peace.

Tompolo, speaking during his 54th birthday at the Aziza Temple in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State, commented on the current fissure between Fubara and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, revealing that dialogue was already ongoing between the two factions, signaling reconciliatory maneuvers.

“I have struggled for the Ijaw people my entire life. This Rivers State issue is not one we will remain silent about.

“I believe that Governor Fubara will be returned to the office soon. We are talking. Dialogue is the only way out,” Tompolo assured.

The Rivers State political crisis has seen tensions rise between the new governor and his predecessor, Wike. The rift has led to dramatic political actions, including the removal of Fubara’s portraits from governmental offices and accusations of marginalization by loyalists of the former governor.

Tompolo nonetheless called for calm, requesting the Ijaw nation and Rivers citizens to be one and resolute. He dismissed allegations of betrayal from his initial silence, adding that he remained committed to the cause of the Ijaw people.

“We are past the point where we trade words with the likes of Wike. This is about our people’s future. We must be strategic, not sentimental,” he said.

In a call for more national unity, Tompolo also announced backing for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Ijaw nation must collaborate with the federal government to pave the way for peace and development in the Niger Delta.

His utterances have been received as a timely intervention by a man admired beyond political and ethnic divides in the region. Political commentators believe Tompolo’s intervention may calm tensions and pave the way for a peaceful resolution.

As Rivers State waits with bated breath, citizens are looking to leaders like Tompolo to steer what has turned out to be a moment of reckoning in the state’s political history.