KEY POINTS
- Bala Mohammed commends Governor Fubara on strengthening democracy in Rivers State.
- Fubara, sworn in local government officials from across different political parties
- However, PDP leaders said it has been endeavoring to reconcile members and unite the party.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, he said, is a democrat who is leading Rivers State in an exemplary way and by God’s grace the state would be better for it.
In his remarks at the swearing in of 23 newly elected Rivers State Local Government Council Chairmen, Mohammed said Fubara was proactive in deepening democracy even in the face of a highly politically pluralised environment.
Bala Mohammed, lauded democratic leadership of Governor Fubara.
Governor Mohammed said that Governor Fubara had done a good job of promoting democratic governance at the local level across party lines. And because he’s still a PDP man, I have to come on behalf of the governors to show solidarity with him for his very proactive democratic instincts.
He also praised Fubara for permitting other political parties to have fully participation in local government council in Rivers, which is a PDP state. He noted how this inclusiveness is a creative way of bringing political divide together and ensuring representation on a general scale.
Governance and unity – A model
Bala Mohammed, who is the Bauchi State Governor, said governors at the sub national level must be respected. But he trumpeted Fubara’s commitment to maintaining governance with an inclusive political environment even without a unified party structure readily in place.
According to The Punch, The Chief Executive is a Governor. He can do anything. ‘We can spring surprises because it is the governors that run the Nigerian State, subnationally, so we need to consider who this person is coming to lead and respect Fubara’s leadership,’ he said.
But before rejecting calls for a wider political base, Mohammed also recalled being in a similar situation in 2019 where he barely had any party representatives to work with, and said Fubara’s political skills had turned him into a model for democratic studies in Nigeria.
Speaking on what he termed an ongoing internal crisis within the PDP, Mohammed was confident that reconciliation was on the cards, stressing that the party remained resolved to remain united. Governor Fubara’s leadership is receiving support of all PDP governors, he stated. The party should keep stretching our arms of reconciliation to his mentor, to his friend and brother and also his colleague, and we should remain united and we should remain solid with our tradition, Mohammed stated.
