Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has called on President Bola Tinubu to reinstate suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, in the spirit of the June 12 Democracy Day commemoration.
In an open letter on Wednesday marking the 32nd anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, George urged President Tinubu to extend the same gesture of forgiveness reportedly shown to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to Fubara.
“On June 12, we will be celebrating Democracy Day. This is a reminder of the true meaning of democracy – the will of the people,” George stated. “Since Tinubu has forgiven Sanwo-Olu, then it makes a lot of sense, spiritually, to also forgive Fubara and let him return to office. I am talking as an elder.”
Fubara was suspended by the President on March 18 amid ongoing political tensions in Rivers State. The governor, however, recently visited Tinubu in Lagos during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
George, reflecting on Tinubu’s history as a pro-democracy activist, said the President played a key role during the struggle against military rule, including his involvement in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).
“He later joined NADECO to fight for democracy. Some of those who fought alongside him for democracy have died. It is not of his making that he is alive today,” George noted. “He should thank God, honour the memory of those who fought alongside him for democracy and return Fubara to office immediately.”
Invoking the legacy of his maternal grand-uncle, Herbert Macaulay—founder of Nigeria’s first political party—George appealed to the President to restore the democratic process by reinstating Fubara.
“Tinubu should listen to, and honour this appeal in memory of all those who died in the journey to our democracy,” he said.
(NAN)