Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he is dissatisfied with the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, noting that he preferred the outright removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Friday, Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers said:
“As a politician, I am not happy with the declaration of Emergency Rule in Rivers State. I wanted the outright removal of the governor. But for the interest of the state, the president did the right thing to prevent anarchy in the state.”
Last month, News Central reported that President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing political instability and recent security threats, including pipeline explosions. The president suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the House of Assembly for six months, calling the decision “inevitably compelling” based on security reports.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas was named as sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs pending resolution of the crisis — a move that has drawn mixed reactions across the country.
Wike, who has been at loggerheads with Fubara, further stated:
“The matter is in court but people must say the truth. The governor was gone. It is not on my place to make it good for the governor. As a politician, my business is not to make him comfortable and that is why there is power plane.”
The political rift between Wike and Fubara — rooted in a battle for control over the state’s political structure — has destabilised the Rivers State House of Assembly. Twenty-seven suspended lawmakers defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), leading to the formation of factional speakers and a parallel assembly.
