Many indigenes of Rivers State express reservations on the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara as a puppet ruler without powers to provide credible leadership going forward, labeling him a ‘ceremonial governor’
By Chinedu Oguh, Port Harcourt
Some stakeholders in Rivers State have downplayed the return of suspended State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara as the six-month emergency rule ended and he returned to office on Friday, September 19, 2025.
They argued that the suspension, negotiations for peace and the intrigues that followed the emergency rule had tamed Fubara and shifted political momentum in favour of his Political Godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FTC), Nyesom Wike.
Convener of Coalition of Rivers Leaders of Thought, Sunny Chukumele told Tentacle that Wike had taken control of the state, but stressed that the Rivers people will decide where the political pendulum swings in the future.
Chukumele, who accused President Bola Tinubu of sacrificing the state for his 2027 ambition, stressed that Fubara had been subdued in the name of peace and the state captured, but expressed confidence that the future of the state will be determined by the people of the state going forward.
“The state is now polarized between Wike and the Rivers people. The governor has been cowed for the so-called peace to reign. But the peace is in the graveyard, and it is unfortunate. Rivers people look helpless, desolate and abandoned to their fate. The new political class has taken over. The President has sacrificed Rivers people for his interest in 2027 so it is for Rivers people to determine who to follow,” he said.
Similarly, a member of the Rivers State Elders Forum (RSEC), Asukewe Iko-Awaji, maintained that the six-month break had eroded the political strength Fubara had before he was suspended from office, noting that his half-year absence had dented the governor’s early momentum, cordiality and damaged the state’s economy.
He said, “The truth is that the damage has been done. The spirit of brotherhood is no longer there. The bad seed has been sown. Now Fubara is back, the cordial relationship amongst them won’t be there again. They will be suspicious of each other because the bad egg has been laid.
“This is what the Rivers people will face; it will take them several months to blend again. Before the declaration of the state of emergency, a lot of projects were going on. When Ibas came, he abandoned the projects and some companies pulled out. It will take another six months to put himself together and bring back the companies.”
Fubara and the Deputy Governor, Professor Ngozi Odu and members of the state House of Assembly were suspended on March 18, 2025 after months of political turmoil that paralyzed governance in the oil-rich state.
The President’s decision came on the heels of a fierce battle between Fubara and Wike, but Tentacle reports that the rift between the duo, which began as soon as Fubara assumed office in May 2023, escalated into a full-blown crisis, with the House Assembly splitting into rival camps, while legislative functions came to a standstill and near-collapse of governance.
A report chronicles 60 major incidents on Rivers political crisis which has been one of the most defining political stories in Nigeria in recent years. From the demolition of the Assembly Complex, the defection of the 27 lawmakers, violent protests, legal tussles, pipeline explosions and Supreme Court rulings that there was no government in Rivers State all culminated in President Tinubu’s proclamation of emergency rule in March 2025.
Reacting to the development, Somiari Jaja said that time has come, explaining that it was not enough to declare state of emergency and suspend a democratically elected governor from office believing that by this action, they would have sufficiently intimidated him to submission by arranging a peace meeting decidedly skewed in favour of Wike.
“Now it is time to implement the one sided peace agreement, it’s time to enforce the agreement. The truth is that any agreement arranged to humiliate the governor will not work, certainly they will be resistant until the governor is allowed to run his government as he wishes. Back door arrangement is dead on arrival”.
A social critic who requested that his name should not be mentioned said Rivers State has no governor, what we have is Wike place holder. He questioned the kind agreement that an unelected minister will appoint all agency board members including selection of local government chairmen. Wike has taken away all the powers of the governor. Wike determines who should be the governor’s friends and those that should work with him and for Rivers State.
A Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, Anyakweh Miracle Amadi said the returnee Governor Siminalayi Fubara should get back to work immediately, saying he should focus on consolidating on projects and delivering his campaign promises to Rivers people.
“He should resist every temptation of politicking, but rather deliver all the pending projects and activities he began and leave a clean state for himself”.
But it seems that the frosty relationship between the governor and the lawmakers is not yet over. In their first plenary session after returning from suspension they passed a motion requesting the Governor to submit the names of his commissioner nominees to the House for screening and confirmation.
A former lawmaker, Christian Ahiakwo said the legislators don’t have the power and authority to demand the list of commissioner nominees from the governor, insisting it remains the governor’s prerogative to forward the list to the lawmakers at his convenience.
In his response, President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Fegalo Nsuke advised Governor Fubara to tread carefully as he returns to office after his suspension, adding that the political crisis that led to his suspension should serve as a vital lesson and urged Fubara to be wiser now and more open to dialogue with political actors in the state.
According to Nsuke, one of the first things the governor should do is to visit the Rivers State House of Assembly and engage the lawmakers, noting that such a gesture would be a true sign of reconciliation and opportunity to put past political conflicts behind them.
He further noted that beyond politics, the state’s infrastructure has suffered badly during Fubara’s absence. Roads, schools, hospitals and electricity systems are all in poor condition and need urgent attention.
Nsuke advised the governor to focus on development while maintaining peaceful relations with his political opponents. He also cautioned that Fubara should consult more with Wike, since the power structures that sustain his office are no longer fully in his control.
Many hope for genuine peace and the restoration of democratic governance that delivers dividends such as security, development and good governance.
On his part, a political commentator in the state, Engr. Franklin Eyo said the question now is will Wike and Fubara genuinely entrench real peace, which goes beyond mere rhetoric and political gymnastics?
Since 1999, Fubara is the third governor to be suspended under emergency rule after Joshua Dariye, Plateau, May 2004 and Ayodele Fayose Ekiti on October 16, 2006. On May 14, 2013, former President Goodluck Jonathan declared a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa over insecurity arising from Boko Haram insurgency but the governors and law makers retained their seats.
