Fact-Check: Claim that Tinubu Gives 72 Hours to Resolve Issue Between Fubara and Rivers Assembly Members is False — Attached Video is Old  

BY: Oluwaseye Ogunsanya 

Claim

An X user @Barde6767 claims that President Bola Tinubu has given FCT minister, Nyesom Wike 72 hours to resolve the issue going on between the suspended Rivers Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly, otherwise he will be suspended. 

Verdict

False!

Full Text

An X user, @Barde6767 claims that President Bola Tinubu has given FCT minister, Nyesom Wike 72 hours to resolve the issue going on between the suspended Rivers Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly, otherwise he will be suspended. 

The user attached a video of Tinubu speaking with reporters at his office in the villa, the 1 minutes, 7 seconds video clip had the President flanked by bigwigs in the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), including the party chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule as well as the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. The claim can also be found here and here. 

Screenshot of the claim 

Context

This claim comes at a time when unconfirmed reports suggest that Siminalayi Fubara met with President Tinubu during the latter’s 18-day retreat in Europe. According to PUNCH, the meeting—confirmed by The Africa Report—was at the request of Governor Fubara.

The report further stated that a senior presidential adviser told the Paris-based publication that Fubara “pledged to make certain concessions in a bid to ease tensions.”

Similarly, there have been rumours that at least three PDP governors are contemplating defection to the APC. Arise TV singled out Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, and the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, in its report.

The rumour gained further traction today when Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, along with his deputy, his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa (who was also Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the 2023 elections), and several commissioners, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Last Friday, at a public event, Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio for re-election in 2027. However, his party has dismissed the speculation as “mere rumour.”

Verification

To verify the claim, FactCheckAfrica conducted a Google search to determine whether it had been reported by other credible news outlets. However, the search yielded no results.

We then took a screenshot of the short video clip and ran it through Google Reverse Image Search. The results revealed that the video was from a news report covering Tinubu’s Supreme Court victory in the February 25, 2023, Presidential Election.

While addressing the media, Tinubu said: “We understand the suffering of the country. You don’t need additional distractions to be able to concentrate on building a new economy for the people—an inclusive one, for that matter.

The judgment of the Supreme Court put a stop to shenanigans, put a stop to innuendos, put a stop to trials in the media and public space.”

Screenshot of the reports from Google Lens 

The Nation reported that visitors and well-wishers thronged the House Number 1 to congratulate President Bola Tinubu over his victory at the Supreme Court. Among the early callers to the Villa to felicitate with the President were the governors of Bayelsa, Douye Diri; Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule; Ogun, Dapo Abiodun; and Kogi, Yahaya Bello; Benue, Hyacinth Alia. Others included the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike; National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje; former Delta State governor, James Ibori; and the Managing Director of Sahara Energy, Mr Kola Adesina; Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Ohanenye, among others.

Conclusion 

The claim is false, as there is no credible report supporting it. Our findings also reveal that the attached video is old and has been used to mislead the public.