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  • UPDATED: We will implement Supreme Court’s judgement in full, says Fubara 

    UPDATED: We will implement Supreme Court’s judgement in full, says Fubara 

    Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will implement the Supreme Court judgement to the fullest. 

    The governor gave the assurance during the inauguration of the New Judges Quarters built by his administration in the Old GRA, Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

    Fubara insisted that no personal interest should override the collective good and peace of Rivers State assing that no price would be too much to pay for peace.

    The governor acknowledged that the past 16 months had been rough for his government, saying that he would leave office one day but that his good work would speak for him.

    He said since the crisis started a lot of money and resources that should have been channelled to the development of the state had been wasted by both sides.

    He said: “It has not been easy these past sixteen months, but what is important is the interest of our state must be above our personal interest. 

    “I want to say it here very clearly the Supreme Court has given a judgment, my administration will implement the judgment to its fullest. The reason is clear, it is not about me, it is about the good of this state. 

    “We can imagine the kind of waste that has taken place in both sides. These are money that if we have used it in the affairs of this state there would have been a lot of things to show. Thank God for where we are today.

    “I can assure you that any day, any time, I have not gone back on my statement that nothing is too big to pay for peace in this state. Because at the end of the day, it is about our people. It is not about me, because I will leave but the good that I have done will speak for my administration.”

    The governor described the event as special, observing the presence of a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) O.C.J Okocha, SAN, referring to him as an unusual person.

    Read Also: JUST IN: We will implement Supreme Court’s judgement in full, says Fubara 

    He said: “Today is a special day because we have a very unusual person in our midst and I want to honestly appreciate his presence, Chief O.C.J Okocha. We are happy that you are here with us”.’

    The governor said the project was a further proof that his administration took the issue of welfare seriously and recalled that the project was inherited from the former government.

    “When we came on board this particular project is one of the projects that we inherited and after the reports that we received from the ministry and some concerns that were made from the judiciary we felt it doesn’t matter who started the project and it doesn’t matter who the contractor is, but what is important is to complete this project because it is all about Rivers State”.

    He asked the Chief Judge to work with the government on the issue of maintenance of the new quarters to keep the facilities in a good shape 

    In his remarks, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Chibuzor Amadi, described the inauguration as another milestone and great accomplishment for Rivers judiciary.

    He recalled that he laid the foundation for the project as part of activities marking the end of the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike with Governor Fubara in attendance.

    He said: “We are pleased with this landmark achievement which represents the continuation of the policy of providing befitting residential accommodations for the judges of Rivers State on owner occupier basis or monetary grant in lieu thereof.

    “This is backed by Rivers State housing scheme for judicial officers law number 10 of 2021. By the extant National Judicial Council guidelines for appointment of judges in Nigeria availability of official residential accommodation and official vehicles are essential for the grant of approval by the National Judicial Council to any State for appointment of new judges”.

    He said having official residential accommodation was a necessity for any judicial officer in view of the sensitive and important duties of their office.

    Justice Amadi thanked Governor Fubara, for keeping heads up and completing the legacy project for the enhancement of the judicial duties of judges of Rivers State. 

    He said the policy of providing official accommodation for judges had reduced greatly the pressure on judicial officers, who hitherto struggled to build retirement home while in service with limited resources. 

    He commended Fubara for keeping up with the policy and delivering the project on record time and also told the governor that there was a need for construction of more quarters for judges to cater for future appointments, since having residential accommodation had become a mandatory requirement by the NJC for the appointment of new judges. 

    Amadi said: ‘It is not only a policy, NJC sets panels to any State wanting to appoint judges to inspect the houses and also see the vehicles. In many instances they take the keys of the vehicles to Abuja, because we have had instances where some States hire vehicles and after inspection the vehicles are returned. But that has not been the case in Rivers State. 

    He congratulated the beneficiaries of the apartments saying they would own the houses after their retirement.

    While thanking the governor for his unflinching support for the Rivers judiciary, Amadi said the judges would remain committed to discharging their statutory duties for the peace, security and economic growth of Rivers.

  • JUST IN: We will implement Supreme Court’s judgement in full, says Fubara 

    JUST IN: We will implement Supreme Court’s judgement in full, says Fubara 

    Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will implement the Supreme Court’s judgement to the fullest. 

    The governor gave the assurance during the inauguration of the New Judges Quarters built by his administration in the Old GRA, Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

    Read Also: Fubara: Pay day for outlawry!

    Fubara insisted that no personal interest should override the collective good and peace of Rivers State, saying that no price would be too much company for peace.

    Details shortly…

  • Who will save Rivers from her warring children?

    Who will save Rivers from her warring children?

    Politics has been variously defined as ‘authoritative allocation of values or “who gets what when and how”. But I think in terms of intrigue that goes into balancing the interest of pressure groups and public interest, deviousness and ruthlessness of office seekers and for our purpose in this write up ‘politics as the art of the possible will be more appropriate (Otto Von Bismarck, German statesman and First Chancellor of Unified Germany 1815-1898).

    The truth is that not all office seekers or office holders are politicians. Politicians are a special breed of selfless public servants who are not deterred by the fact they that are hardly trusted by the public they serve who often see them as corrupt, devious and men of many words. These largely misunderstood patriots ruled and may sometimes be addressed as their excellences, but others call the tune. Unfortunately, no matter how much politicians are detested, our survival as an organized society depends on their resourcefulness and brinkmanship.

    Of course, bluffing Governor Similayi Fubara who had all his past battle fought for him is not a politician. In fact he is not smart enough to learn from our recent history.

    We once had a Raji Babatunde Fashola, a non-politician but a very smart guy as governor of Lagos State. He was not his party’s but his godfather’s choice. When he had a slight disagreement with his godfather, all those who had wanted his job, rose up in his defence not because they loved him, but to spite his godfather. Opposition parties were dangling their party’s’ ticket in his face in case he was denied his party’s ticket for a second term.

    But instead of swallowing the poison as Fubara did, he went for an international engagement where he gave a lecture and announced to the whole world that “Tinubu made me governor”. That became newspaper headlines in both local and international newspaper the following day. The godfather was humbled. If the godfather today takes credit for landmark projects like the Lagos rail line and Atlantic City, it was because his trusted godson, the actualiser, unlike Ambode who ignored some of the projects during his four years tenure, remained faithful to his godfather and his dream project.

    Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, following some disagreement with Obasanjo also joined forces with his estranged godfather’s political foes including James Ibori who also headed the Yar’Adua group that did not want Jonathan to succeed the ailing President Yar’Adua. This was long after he had declared publicly that apart from God and his biological parents, Obasanjo was the next most important personality in is life. Jonathan was hijacked by the late pa Edwin Clark, who gave himself the title of ’father of the president’ to spite Obasanjo. Jonathan forgot his battle was fought by the likes of Tunde Bakare on the streets of Lagos and Abuja with the ‘doctrine of necessity’ slogan. The rest is history.

    Today, facing the same scenario, Fubara, like Jonathan, teamed up with enemies of Wike, his estranged godfather including Imo Ikenga Ugochinyere, who has today become Fubara’s interpreter of court pronouncements. Others include PDP stalwarts in borrowed robe of media men who would not forgive Wike for bringing PDP down during the 2023 elections. Some of them pretend to be news anchors without appreciating that the greatest attributes of a news anchor include  journalistic integrity, professionalism  and ability to be ‘silent and listen”. These men lionized Fubara, encouraged him to stand up to his estranged godfather and talked him out of his initial undertaking to implement term of truce reached when the president first intervened.

    Unfortunately, Fubara still does not understand that the only people benefiting from the tragedy he has inadvertently brought upon his people are these self-serving advisers and media promoters who smile to the banks at the expense of besieged people of Rivers.

    For instance, ‘News commercialisation’ which refers to situation “whereby the electronic media report as news or news analysis a commercial message by an unidentified or unidentifiable sponsor giving the audience the impression that news is fair, objective and socially responsible”(Nnorom,1994) is not cheap. The 30 minutes slot cannot be anything less than N20m. That is what someone coughs out to allow the likes of Ikenga Ugochinyere to speak without substance on TV for 30 minutes in the name of fighting Fubara’s war. He was pathetic to watch last week on Fubara’s favourite TV platform as he gave his own interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment after which he urged Fubara to ‘carry on’ the battle.

    The above forces that exploited Fubara’s lack of capacity to understand that sometimes in political warfare , you may have to stoop to conquer, were behind his missing of an historic opportunity provided by last week landmark  Supreme Court judgment to end his people’s nightmare after two years of his unstable government.

    The Supreme Court judgment was straight forward.

    The court ruled there is no evidence that the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), because without evidence presented before the court, in the eyes of the law, no defection took place and consequently the status quo in the House of Assembly must remain.

    It criticized the governor for behaving likes a despot by demolishing the House of Assembly complex and preventing the 27 lawmakers from sitting. It also condemned Fubara for destroying of Rivers State over his fear of impeachment

    “Since the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot, the Supreme Court held that “As it is, there is no government in Rivers State”.

    It held that “The doctrine of necessity cannot be invoked to justify the continued existence of a deliberately contrived illegal or unconstitutional status quo.

    That “political disagreements cannot justify these attacks and contempt for the rule of law by the governor of a state or any person.

    That “The part of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, affirming the judgment of the Federal High Court in suit No. FHC/AB)/CS/984/2024 is hereby affirmed.

    Read Also: United Nigeria Airline launches Abuja-Katsina flight route

    That “The said judgment of the Federal High Court in suit No. FHC/AB)/CS/984/2024 is hereby restored.

    That “For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby ordered that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant General of the Federation should forthwith stop releasing and paying to the Government of Rivers State, its organs,… until an Appropriation Law is made by Rivers State House of Assembly constituted as prescribed by the 1999 Constitution.

    That “The Rt. Honourable Martin Chike Amaewhule and the other 26 members should forthwith resume unhindered sitting as Speaker and members respectively of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    With all the roads blocked, if only Fubara understands politics as the art of the possible, and had without the meddlesomeness of elders and politicians on both sides of the aisle who speak from both sides of the mouth, picked up the phone to congratulate the speaker of his state House of Assembly and his colleagues over their victory at the court and offer to forward the 2025 budget and the list of his commissioners as directed by the Supreme Court, the following day.

    And let us for a moment imagine Fubara with awesome apparatus of his office storming Wike’s victory church thanksgiving in Abuja and insisting Rivers State seat of power remains in his house until he agrees to join him for another thanksgiving in Port Harcourt to convince the mass of Rivers people in whose name they all swore, that the battle was over.

    Of course Fubara would have seized the initiative while Wike would have been humbled.

    Unfortunately, Fubara who cannot appreciate the worth of the office he never fought for will rather keep on playing the ostrich. Whilst he claims to wait for certified copy of the court judgment to start complying with the Supreme Court judgment, that has not stopped him from starting preparation for the conduct of a new local government election.  A few days after informing his street boys to wait for signals, a trending video of AK-47 wielding militants in the creeks threatening to attack oil installations emerged. The Punch gave an elaborate coverage to them and their demand.

    Ijaw youths have also joined the fray in support of Fubara, the first Rivers governor of Ijaw ethnic extraction.

    The question now is with Fubara’s resolve to continue waging war against his own government, politicians admitting treachery against their state, elders speaking from both side of the mouth while our once beautiful ‘Garden City’ turns into a city of blood by militants groomed and armed by Rivers’ successive governors, who is going to save Rivers?

  • Fubara to supporters: follow my footsteps of peace 

    Fubara to supporters: follow my footsteps of peace 

    Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has discouraged any plan by his team of supporters to resort to violence following the ongoing political crisis in the state.

    Speaking on Monday during the inauguration of the Palace of Nyeweli Akpor and a personal residence for the current Akpor King built by his administration in Akpor Kingdom, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, the governor said he would not encourage any disobedience or violence in the state.

    He said his government would not renege on the promises it made to the people despite the circumstances facing his administration.

    Fubara told his his supporters to remain strong because according to him God would not abandon a project he started halfway, insisting that no matter the situation his administration would come out stronger.

    He said: “I want to say to our teeming supporters, I know some of you, your spirits are high, while some are low. I want to assure you that one important facts about life, God does not start and end half way. It doesn’t matter what the situation might be, I assure that we will come up stronger and better.

    “Continue to follow our footsteps of peace. We need it because if anything happens we will be the greatest losers as our concerns for this state is not for our personal gains, but the total well-being of Rivers State. So, I appeal to everyone of you to be law-abiding. I will not encourage any act of disobedience or violence. That is not also to say we should support evil, we will never support evil. 

     “I want to on behalf of the government l thank everyone of you, continue to stand strong because we will prevail at the end. For our leaders, we can’t thank you enough. Each time we come out and I see the strength and vigour in your faces, in the camp of our detractors they will jitter and fear grips them because these are people following us without anything. These are men who have made their names and believe that at this point in time what is important is the integrity of Rivers State”.⁹

    Fubara described the decision of his administration to construct the palace as historic saying he was happy to be part of the history.

    Read Also: Rivers crisis: Cold war persists between Fubara, lawmakers

    The governor said he was touched so much that he shared tears of joy when the Royal Father lamented that Akpor Kingdom existed for 200 years without a palace.

    He said: “The question is that we used to hear that the palace of some Kingdoms were destroyed during the invasion. It therefore means Akpor has been running without a palace when you have everything in your disposal.

    *But God doesn’t make mistakes. Maybe He left it for our decision to fulfill it so that we be part of history in Akpor Kingdom. About 10 months ago when we came to this Kingdom to flag off the Okania-Igbogoro road a delegation of the traditional rulers made a very touching request that the Kingdom needs a palace and we made a promise that we are going to do that for them.

     *I am happy that six months after the award of that project we are here to inaugurate not just the building, but to also make a statement in Akpor Kingdom. We did not just build the Palace, we provided a personal residence for the Nyeweli knowing that the Palace belongs to all Akpor people, but at the end of his tenure or by eventuality when the call of nature comes his family definitely won’t be here. 

    “After living a beautiful edifice, what then happens to the family, so we have to provide a place for him. I would want you to note that we did not end the project by building just this, but we went further to provide his own personal residence, so that when he leaves he can enjoy the comfort he is already enjoying in this Palace”.

    Fubara insisted that his projects and services would continue to touch the lives of the people and accepted the Chieftaincy title conferred on him by the Royal Father.

    “I am grateful and I accept the Chieftaincy with all humility because I can see that it is coming from a sincere heart. I am more humbled when the Royal Father said that Akpor has never done it before. So, it means a lot, and I assure you that I will protect this respect that is bestowed on me today. I will defend it with everything and I will not let you people down”, he said.

    Fubara said he chose the Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers to inaugurate the project because of the significance.

    Inaugurating the project, the Special Guest of Honour, King Chike A. A. Worlu Wodo, Eze Oha Apara, Chairman Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, recalled that his own palace in Apara Kingdom was built by the same government a few months ago. 

    He told the governor not to worry about the ongoing political crisis in Rivers saying God is in charge, adding that Fubara had shown respect to traditional institutions.

    He said: “Some people may be wondering why this government is spending so much money to build Palaces for Traditional Rulers. The truth is that this government understands that Traditional Rulers are the closest leaders to the people. 

    “Traditional Rulers play vital roles in maintaining peace and orderliness in the communities and by so doing they simplify governance at the State level. My friend and colleague, from Calabar once said that respect for traditional rulers and elders shows good upbringing. Our governor has good upbringing.

    “I wish to use this opportunity to thank you for the numerous developmental projects your administration is doing in all sections of the State. May I also urge you not to be worried about the recent political development in the State. God is in charge of this State, so the machinations of the evil ones will not take place in this State”.

  • JUST IN: Resign or face impeachment, Rivers APC tell Fubara

    JUST IN: Resign or face impeachment, Rivers APC tell Fubara

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Rivers State has called on Governor Siminalayi Fubara to resign or face impeachment.

    APC made the call while reacting to Fubara’s invitation to a breakfast meeting with the 27 Pro-Wike lawmakers at Government House on Monday.  

    Rivers APC chairman Tony Okocha described the invitation as a Greek Gift. 

    Okocha recalled how much the Governor has disrespected President Ahmed Tinubu after his intervention when the crisis started in 2023 and even abused court judgements with impunity.

    He said: “The invitation to the lawmakers is a Greek Gift. The Supreme Court Judgement is final. There is nothing anybody can do about it. The only option available to the Governor now is for him to resign or be impeached.”

    Read Also: BREAKING: Fubara invites Speaker Amaewhule, Assembly members for crucial meeting

    Feilding questions from journalists on the Governor’s invitation, Okocha said: “My response to the Greek gift the Governor is attempting to extend to the 27 Lawmakers is it is not within the ambits of the law and it is already belated.

    “It is stupidity that made Nza (small specie of bird) to challenge his chi (god), to a fight. We have always told the Governor that if he brings insect-infested firewood to his house, he has literally invited  lizards to a feast.”

    Details Shortly…

  • Rivers crisis: Cold war persists between Fubara, lawmakers

    Rivers crisis: Cold war persists between Fubara, lawmakers

    • Uncertainty over today’s Executive, Legislature parley

    There is uncertainty over the proposed meeting of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara with the House of Assembly members led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule.

    Although the meeting was scheduled for today at the Government House, Port-Harcourt, the state capital, the lawmakers had not given their commitment to the parley as of last night.

    It is the first overture of the governor to the lawmakers since the Supreme Court ordered the seizure of allocations to the state and recognised Amaewhule as Speaker.

    The governor, in the invitation dated March 7 and signed by the Secretary to the Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, scheduled the meeting for 10 am.

    Read Also: CBN to contain naira volatility with forex inflows

    In the invitation, Fubara addressed Amaewhule as Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly.

    For almost two years, Fubara and the 27 lawmakers have not met after the governor recognised the four-member House of Assembly chaired by Victor Oko-Jumbo.

    Fubara, who had ordered the demolition of the House of Assembly, said the seats of the 27 lawmakers should be declared vacant, claiming that they had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The governor also laid before the four-member Assembly the 2024 and 2025 budgets.

    Following the Supreme Court judgment that Fubara should re-present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the Assembly, the lawmakers had given a 48-hour ultimatum to him to comply.

    The ultimatum expired last week.

    However, the governor stated that the invitation aligned with his promise in his  March 5 letter to notify them that he had received the Supreme Court’s judgment.

    “He has, therefore, directed to invite you and your colleagues, the Honourable members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to a meeting,” the letter added.

    The letter also listed the four items on the agenda of the meeting.

    These are: the “provision of a befitting space for the Assembly’s sitting; payment of all outstanding remuneration and allowances of members of the honourable members; presentation of the budget and sundry matters and any other matter as may be necessary to chart the way forward in the best interest of Rivers State.”

    However, sources close to the lawmakers said they may not honour the invitation until the governor complies with the Supreme Court judgment by re-presenting the 2025 budget to the Assembly.

    According to a source, the lawmakers are unhappy that Fubara disregarded the letter sent to him by the Assembly to comply with the apex court judgment within 48 hours.

    He said: “The only item on the agenda of the Rivers State House of Assembly tomorrow (today) is to receive the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Adolphus Enebeli.”

    A lawmaker, Lolo Isaiah Opuende, in an online video, ruled out any meeting point with the governor.

    He said it was time for the governor to ‘dey his dey’ (be on his own) while the lawmakers would be on their own.

    Opuende, who represents Akuku-Toru Constituency 11, recalled that when the crisis started, their “principal” (Nyesom Wike), told them that the real of ‘dey your dey’ would come.

    He queried the mode of transmitting the invitation.

    “How can you write a letter for the House of Assembly and put it on social media and expect us to come? The governor should write us the proper way.”

    Another source, who spoke in confidence, said the lawmakers would not honour the invitation.

    He said: “First, it is disrespectful for the governor to write to the Assembly through the SSG. The correspondences from the governor to the House of Assembly are usually signed personally by the governor.

    “Secondly, the governor has no right to summon the House of Assembly. The Assembly has the constitutional oversight function on the Executive. Besides, items listed for deliberations in the so-called invitation do not make sense.

    “You are inviting lawmakers to discuss their statutory allowances you withheld when you know you don’t have any budget and the money you are spending is illegal. Do you need to discuss their money first before paying them?

    “You are also talking about discussing a place for them to sit when you know the Constitution allows the Assembly to choose any place they deem for sitting.

    “Already, the House had scheduled Monday for a sitting and it is not for the governor. The lawmakers are expecting the Chairman of RISIEC to appear before them and if he fails to do so, they will issue him a warrant of arrest.”

    But, the National President, Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in Niger Delta (MOSIEND), Ambassador Kennedy Tonjo-West, hailed Fubara for inviting the lawmakers for a meeting.

    He said: “This meeting presents a unique opportunity for the Assembly members and the governor to put aside their differences and work towards the progress and development of Rivers State.

    “We urge them to seize this moment to bury their hatchet, make peace, and settle all areas of concern.”

    Tonjo-West described the proposed meeting as the first step towards peace, urging all parties to approach it with an open mind and a willingness to compromise.

    He added: “We urge the assembly members to attend this meeting and reconcile their differences with the governor. The peace of Rivers State depends on their collective efforts.”

    Crisis deepens

    Enebeli refused to honour the Assembly’s invitation on Friday after the expiration of a 48-hour ultimatum.

    He has also sued the Assembly to prevent the dissolution of the electoral agency.

    However, during the plenary, the lawmakers resolved to extend the ultimatum to 72 hours, which expires today.

    Also, the governor was given another 48 hours to sack all the commissioners who were not screened and confirmed by the Assembly and submit fresh nominees.

    According to the Assembly, the appointments of 19 members of the State Executive Committee are illegal.

    The commissioners filed a suit at the state High Court in Port Harcourt challenging the resolutions of the House.

    No room for violence, say ex-chairmen

    Former chairmen of Ijaw-dominated local government areas condemned the threats by non-state actors to unleash violence if there is an attempt to impeach the governor.

    The former campaign coordinators for Fubara in their various local government areas called on the police, the Department of State Security (DSS) and other security agencies to enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court.

    The former members of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) said in a statement that they remained the substantive chairmen of their local governments following their aborted tenure extension.

    According to them, the Supreme Court had ended the crisis.

    Signatories to the statement are Daniel Daniel (Abua/Odual), Dr Rowland C.  Sekibo (Akuku Toru), Dr Erastus C. Awortu (Andoni), Onengiye George,  (Asari Toru), Michael John Williams (Degema), Chief Vincent Nemioboka (Ogu Bolo), Akuro Tobin (Okrika); Tamunotonye Douglas (Vice-Chairman Port Harcourt City) and Ubile Jack (Vice-Chairman Ahoada West).

    The statement reads: “Our attention was drawn to both subtle and frontal threats to the government, instigated by some individuals and organisations, who ostensibly are beneficiaries of the crises.

    “It’s even worse that they use the Ijaw identity to fuel the embers of violence and intimidation of the Federal Government.

    “In this category are organisations such as the Ijaw National Congress and some renegades of the Ijaw Youth Council.

    “These organisations stated publicly that the Ijaws will resort to violence against critical national oil Infrastructure if Governor Fubara is impeached.

    “This implies that these pro-Ijaw ethnic organisations have not read the Supreme Court judgment they so condemn.

    “We stringently condemn those empty threats and urge the Federal Government and Nigerians to disregard such comments which project the Ijaws in a bad light.

    “Moreso, it is a fact that these threats attack the sensitivity of people from other ethnic groups in Rivers State who also voted for Gov Fubara.

    “We have also seen videos and press statements of supposed stakeholders including Prof. Benjamin Okaba, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari Dokubo threaten the energy security of the Nigerian State if attempts at implementation of the judgment lead to the impeachment of the governor.”

    Why flaying the threats and outbursts, the Ijaw leaders queried: “Did the judgment call for impeachment of the governor? The simple answer is no.

    “Where were these persons who claim to be fighting the so-called Ijaw fight when the governor truncated the tenure and seized the allocation of the LGAs including those of us who are fellow Ijaws?             

    “Where were they when he stopped the salaries of the Assembly members and even made conscious attempts to use the courts to impeach them including 10 Ijaw sons?

    “They were all unconcerned because they were benefitting from the crisis and were not ready to stop benefitting from it.

    “Rivers State is a heterogeneous state with people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

    “We frown at the regular use of our ethnic identity to threaten the rest of our countrymen because of the vast natural resources that are domicile in the region.

    “We want to assure Nigerians that we shall mobilise our massive support base to protect oil installations situated in our respective communities.

    “We call on Governor Fubara to obey and ensure the full compliance with the decisions of the Supreme Court.

    “Impeachment is a profound constitutional prescription to penalise any erring governor or President in a presidential system of Government.

    “The Ijaws should at this point ensure that their beloved son, Governor Fubara, does not carry out any act that will necessitate the deployment of this constitutionally approved procedure to check his excesses.

    “To ensure the speedy implementation of the Supreme Court judgment, we call on the police, the DSS, the military, and all other security agencies who have a stake in the defence of the nation and its mandate, to spread their tentacles in ensuring prompt and peaceful implementation of the Supreme Court judgment.”

  • Sheathe your swords

    Sheathe your swords

    Now that the battle for the soul of Rivers has been won and lost, the gladiators have to bury the hatchet in the interest of the people

    When the simmering crisis in Rivers State began, leading to the fear of the impeachment of incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara on October 29, 2023, former Governor Nyesom Wike appeared to be the overbearing pugilist, and his successor Governor Fubara appeared to be the meek underdog. However, as the crisis evolved, roles seemed to change.

    Then on December 13, 2023, Fubara established his fearsomeness, when he was associated with the demolition of the chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, allegedly to prevent the legislators from sitting there, presumably to stop him from being impeached. Fubara’s utterances also increasingly became a foreboding.

    On May 9, 2024, when asked by journalists why he was at the legislative quarters, he replied: “Is the assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there? You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for myself how things are. There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”

     The new speaker he referred to is Victor Oko-Jumbo, one of Fubara’s four loyalists who claimed to have removed the 27 who were loyal to his rival Wike – the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    Fubara provided space for the four legislators at the Government House, and he was transacting official businesses, including budget presentations and the screening and approval of commissionership nominees, with them to the exclusion of the 27 legislators.

    With respect to the 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike, Fubara said ominously on May 6, 2024: “the young people … who claim that they are assembly members, are not assembly members. They’re not existing. … Their existence [depends on] me allowing them to exist. If I derecognise them, they’re nowhere.” These claims recalled the personalised absolute political authority which King Louis XIV of France assumed, in the 17th century, by declaring, “L’état, c’est moi.” (‘I am the state.’) Fubara went ahead to stop the salaries and entitlements of the 27 legislators.

    Moreover, when he decided to organise local government elections on October 5, 2024, in compliance with the Supreme Court judgement of July 11, 2024, which ruled that only democratically-elected officials should run local government administrations, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered him not to go ahead with the polls. The judgement also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to provide the state with the voters’ register and that the police should not provide security for the planned election. Fubara ignored the judgement and went ahead with the election.

    His actions threw Rivers State into a web of litigations. Then on February 28,

    2025, the Supreme Court decided as follows: (1) There was no evidence that the 27 pro-Wike legislators had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC); and so, they remain bona fide members of the legislature. (2) It was preposterous to demolish part of the legislative complex to prevent an independent arm of government from meeting, because of the fear that such meetings could lead to the governor’s impeachment. (3) It was absurd and illegal for the governor to be running the state with a three-or-four member legislature. (4) The budget of the state should be properly presented to the full legislature with the pro-Wike’s Martins Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker. (5) The local government elections of October 5, 2024 did not follow due process, and was therefore null and void. (6) The Central Bank and the Accountant-General of the Federation should withhold statutory allocations to Rivers State until democratically elected chairpersons are in place.

     It is gratifying to note that, though he was excited by the judgement of the Supreme Court, Wike advised the legislators not to seek to impeach Fubara as governor.

    We implore the legislators to take this noble advice.

    It is also gratifying that Fubara has directed the chairpersons who emerged from the October 5, 2024 local government elections to leave office. However, he contradicted this positive gesture when he said to the youth: “Be strong. Don’t be perturbed. … I assure you at the right time you will get the instruction.”

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    Considering this seeming ambivalence on the part of the governor, it is necessary to counsel him not to escalate the tension in the state. He needs to calm down his rhetoric and ensure that all hands are on deck to organise a new local government election which would be optimally democratic. Governor Fubara should, in other words, avoid, as much as he can, any actions that can tease an impeachment move.

    The legislators also need to show due deference to the person and office of the governor. Wike should also sheathe his sword forthwith.

    While addressing a cross-section of Rivers State citizens on March 3, 2025, at the commissioning of a project, Fubara regretfully said: “Our leaders, … we have not … given you anything right from the time we started. We have been running a system where every time when we try to stabilise, one spanner will be thrown into our way. So, for that reason, it’s like bringing us to Ground Zero again, and we start afresh.”

     This echoes his October 7, 2024, sober reflection: “the wonderful jobs I’m doing in this state are not seen, because of the crisis. … I don’t feel happy hearing every time Rivers State is in the news for bad reasons.” He therefore has a personal stake to work in a conciliatory manner with the Rivers State House of Assembly and other key stakeholders within and outside the state to accelerate the development of the beleaguered state.

    All in all, the Supreme Court judgement of February 28, 2025, is an eloquent testimony to the fact that the rule of law still applies.

    It also shows that it was a grave error not to have optimally implemented the resolutions reached at the Rivers State reconciliation meeting convened by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at Abuja on December 18, 2023.

  • Rivers lawmaker dismisses Fubara’s invitation 

    Rivers lawmaker dismisses Fubara’s invitation 

    A member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Lolo Isaiah Opuende, has dismissed an invitation from Governor Siminialayi Fubara for a crucial meeting at Government House, Port Harcourt.

    In an online video, Opuende stated that it was time for the governor to “dey his dey” (be on his own) while the lawmakers would do the same.

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    Representing Akuku-Toru Constituency 2, Opuende recalled that when the political crisis began, their principal had warned that a time would come for both sides to go their separate ways.

    He also questioned the mode of invitation transmission, arguing that it was not feasible for lawmakers to honor the governor’s request.

    “How can you write a letter for the House of Assembly and put it on social media and expect us to come. The governor should write us the proper way”, he said. 

  • BREAKING: Fubara invites Speaker Amaewhule, Assembly members for crucial meeting

    BREAKING: Fubara invites Speaker Amaewhule, Assembly members for crucial meeting

    Rivers State Governor, Siminialayi Fubara, has invited the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, and other lawmakers to a meeting at Government House, Port Harcourt.

    In a significant move, the invitation—issued from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government—marks the first time Fubara has officially addressed Amaewhule as the Speaker of the Assembly.

    Dated March 7, the invitation references the governor’s March 5 letter, in which he acknowledged receipt of the Supreme Court’s judgment.

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    “And he has, therefore, directed to invite you and your colleagues, the Honourable members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, to a meeting,” the invitation stated.

    The agenda includes discussions on providing a suitable space for the Assembly’s sittings, settling outstanding remuneration and allowances, presenting the budget, and addressing other matters vital to the state’s progress.

    The lawmakers have been requested to meet with the governor at his office on Monday, March 10, at 10 a.m.

  • Fubara’s humble pie

    Fubara’s humble pie

    • The governor had opportunities for fence-mending but frittered them

    How Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State thought he could have got away with his serial disregard for due process and rule of law beggars belief. True, many of our governors are emperors. They want to control virtually everything: from local governments to state assemblies, etc. And they can go to any length just to achieve those ignoble objectives.

    The crisis in Rivers began when in December 2023, Gov. Fubara stopped working with 27 lawmakers, including Martins Amaewhule, following an alleged defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The governor is PDP and a protege of the former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    But the scales soon fell off the eyes of the hitherto romantic pair of lovers and, like many instances of other political godfathers and their godsons, both men have since gone their separate ways.

    That is the main cause of the political

    brouhaha in Rivers State.

    Both Wike and Fubara are now in the battle of their lives for the control of the state’s jugular.  With neither set to retrace his steps, the situation is like that of the bird that perches on a tree; neither the bird nor the tree is at rest.

    But Fubara would seem to have got to his wits end, with the Supreme Court judgment delivered on February 28. I guess this was the last straw that broke the Fubara government’s back, as the apex court upheld an earlier judgment barring the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing the state’s monthly allocation to the state government until it has seen the need to present the state budget in accordance with constitutional stipulations.

    The governor had earlier derecognised

    27 of the state assembly members led by Amaewhule, and had been dealing with only four members, including in the passage of the state budget.

    In fairness to Fubara, he is not the first governor to do this. Some governors had travelled the same route before and many others may be eyeing it if the appropriate lessons are not taught.

    Fubara’s mistake, however, was that he did not appreciate the fact that all circumstances and situations might only be similar, they may not exactly be the same.

    Fubara did not seem to appreciate the fact that Wike is a solid rock behind the Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly. And he is today politically relevant if only by virtue of his position as FCT Minister.

    So, it is not like that of Edo State under

    former Governor Godwin Obaseki, for instance, where Obaseki successfully muzzled the state house of assembly and got away with it.

    Politics apart, any right-thinking person would have known that Gov Fubara would soon get to a brick wall in the path he chose to tread.

    Our 1999 Constitution may not be a perfect document; no document or constitution is. But, as in all democracies, the constitution recognises the importance of the principle of separation of powers. But many of our governors don’t want to have anything to do with that.

     It is Fubara’s immaturity and naivety that his opponents continued to exploit by taking actions that continually made him sink deeper and deeper into gubernatorial impunity that has ended up putting him in his present cul-de-sac.

    Yet, it is not that the governor did not have options. He could have tried to break the ranks of the legislators. Or, could it be that Wike’s grip on his own was too much for him to tackle? Or, did Fubara think coming down from his high horse to the level of the legislators was demeaning for him as the executive governor of Rivers State?

    Whatever it is, the backbone of the majority legislators, that is Wike, may be politically correct today and so could be winning. The tide may turn tomorrow and God may turn what is a masterstroke of political correctness or sagacity today to the height of foolishness.

    But until then, one lesson from this Rivers episode is that it is not in all cases that governors can pocket the state legislators. Where there is unanimity of purpose and determination, the legislators can really assert their independence, especially when, like the whirligig, they have something underneath the water that is beating the drum for them. 

    The Rivers gladiators had the advantage of presidential intervention. But they did not take full advantage of it.

    Just as they also had other options that could have given them an amicable settlement that would have been a win-win for all. Again, they ignored that path. At this stage, we cannot say there is no victor, no vanquished in the matter unless we want to deceive ourselves. There is a victor; there is a vanquished, and all those involved know. Even those of us watching developments from the sidelines know. Egos have been bruised.

    There is a saying in Yoruba land that we cannot return from court and still be friends. This could be true.

    But then, there is still hope only if the gladiators decide to sheath their swords. The fact is; there is a job to do. Governance has suffered in the state since the beginning of the crisis, forget the governor’s braggadocio about his programmes and projects not being affected by the crisis.

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    A governor having impeachment axe dangling on his head cannot truly say all is well.

    But this is where Amaewhule and his colleagues must tread softly. Fubara can only be pretending not to be perturbed. Nigerian governors know the privileges they get in office, so Fubara won’t just go down if he is impeached. He would fight back. But since nothing guarantees that he too would win if things degenerate, he has to eat his humble pie. He should stop issuing threats. The fact is; he doesn’t have what it takes to dislodge Amaewhule & Co. So, he must find a way to reach an amicable settlement with them. Just as the majority legislators too must realise that they can only know the beginning of a crisis; they may not know how it would pan out. The deadline they are giving the governor to present the budget before them, for instance, seems unrealistic to me. There should be room to accommodate likely changes in the light of the new political reality. The point I am making is that whatever deadlines they are giving must have human face and should not be the product of the animosity between the two parties.

    I can understand how they feel but they must show they have the maturity that their opponents seem to lack.

     And if there are still elders in Rivers State, this is a time for them to stand to be counted. The head of a baby that is on his mother’s back can never be bent in a place where there are true elders.

    There is need to douse the tension in the state.