“Tinubu Is Using Divide-And-Rule Tactics to Fuel Crises in Rivers and Lagos” – David Briggs

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Works, David Briggs, has accused President Bola Tinubu of deliberately employing divide-and-rule tactics to stoke political instability in both Rivers and Lagos States. In an interview with Symfoni, Briggs alleged that the ongoing crisis in Rivers and the leadership tussle in the Lagos State House of Assembly are the direct results of Tinubu’s manipulative political style.

Briggs recalled a 2023 interview on AIT during which he predicted that Tinubu’s intervention in the Rivers crisis would not lead to any meaningful resolution, pointing to similarities between Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. According to him, both men are driven by aggressive political ambitions, an obsession with wealth, and a desire to dominate others.

He revealed that during a private meeting with Tinubu on the Rivers crisis, the President harshly criticised Governor Siminalayi Fubara and made it clear that the 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not return. “That meeting started with a condemnation of the governor,” Briggs said, adding that the President’s approach was biased and aimed at humiliating Fubara rather than resolving the conflict.

Briggs accused Tinubu of backing pro-Wike lawmakers in court battles against Fubara, even after the governor dropped his own legal cases in a bid for peace. “That is the case with which they are punishing Rivers State now — so who is fooling who?” he said.

He also criticised Wike for relying on ethnic manipulation and vengeance, warning that the former governor’s political career could collapse if he continues to alienate the Ijaw people. Briggs credited Ijaw leaders, particularly Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, for supporting Wike’s early political rise when others had turned him away. He expressed dismay that Wike is now allegedly describing the Ijaw as weak and electorally irrelevant.

Briggs further claimed that Tinubu’s divisive tactics are not new and have long been at play in Lagos. He alleged that during Tinubu’s tenure as governor, local governments were deliberately made to have two leaders to split loyalty, a strategy he believes Tinubu is now using again to control political dynamics in the state. He also pointed to a fallout between Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which he said began after Sanwo-Olu reportedly contributed to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign. “From that day, Tinubu declared him an enemy,” Briggs alleged.

He concluded by warning that Wike’s dismissive attitude toward the Ijaw people could lead to strong backlash. “He has 48 hours to rescind that or some of us will be forced, not minding the barriers and not minding that some of us also have the DNA of being Ikwerres, we will be able to let him know,” Briggs said.