Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed full support for President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, revealing that he had personally pushed for the removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking during a media parley with select journalists in Abuja on Friday, Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, stated that the president’s intervention prevented what he described as a looming political collapse in the state.
“In all honesty, I wanted Governor Fubara removed,” Wike said. “But the president’s decision to suspend him and appoint a sole administrator instead was what saved Rivers from imploding.”
On March 18, 2025, President Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to declare a state of emergency in the oil-rich state, citing persistent political instability. The proclamation led to the six-month suspension of Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) was subsequently appointed as sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs.
The president’s action has sparked sharp divisions across the country, drawing both criticism and praise from various quarters. While supporters of the move argue it was necessary to restore order, critics have described it as unconstitutional and a threat to democratic governance.
Wike, a key political figure in the region, insisted that Tinubu’s actions were justified, stressing that the political feud in the state had reached a level that required urgent federal intervention.
The declaration of emergency rule in Rivers is the first of such in over a decade, with the last instance occurring in 2013 during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, when emergency rule was declared in the insurgency-hit states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.
The news have generated some reactions from netizens, see screenshots below:
