Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has expressed dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, revealing that he had hoped for the outright removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Friday, Wike said the situation in Rivers had already reached a breaking point before the president intervened.
“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.
The governor was gone. He was gone, yes… so when people say the president did this, I say they should be praising him. Every morning, they should go to the president and ask, ‘Can we wash your feet for saving us?’”
President Tinubu had last month declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing worsening political instability and recent security threats, including pipeline explosions.
In a sweeping move, he suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the entire state House of Assembly for six months, describing his actions as “inevitably compelling.”
In their place, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) was appointed as sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs pending the resolution of the crisis.
The political fight between Wike and Fubara—his former ally—has deeply fractured the state’s power structure, with 27 lawmakers defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a parallel House of Assembly emerging, each with its own factional speaker.
The conflict has continued to stir debate nationwide, raising questions about the future of governance and stability in Rivers State.
