Rivers state of emergency: Is Fubara’s vindication unfolding?
It may not be clear if the suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara anticipated the prophetic import of one of his pronouncements at a recent public forum when he mused that “when the wind blows, the rear end of a hen becomes exposed.” Looking back at that instance now, he may easily appreciate why […]
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It may not be clear if the suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara anticipated the prophetic import of one of his pronouncements at a recent public forum when he mused that “when the wind blows, the rear end of a hen becomes exposed.”
Looking back at that instance now, he may easily appreciate why he could have even been prescient over his latter fortunes in office with that expression. An immediate reference would easily go to the present state of affairs, where, due to the intractable tussle for control of the state between him and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor as governor of Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu, on March 18, 2025 declared a state of emergency in the state, suspended him along with the deputy governor and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as well as appointed Rear Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff for the country to administer the state for six months, in the first instance.
However, while there has been a huge uproar over the constitutional incongruity of the state of emergency, the recent course of events seems to accentuate the fact that all may not be bad news with the dispensation for Fubara’s barely two years stint in office. Courtesy of the debilitating tussle for control of the political structure of the state between his camp and that of his predecessor, his administration had suffered significant de-marketing, a factor that was principally responsible for the state of emergency.
It is in that context that the state of emergency, even in its constitutional incongruity, still offers him significant dividend if there is one, with respect to public acclaim of his style of governance. Seen in context, the state of emergency may be turning out to be a welcome acid-test and same under fire for Siminalayi Fubara as no less a person than the sole administrator himself has given a thumb-up for some of the former’s attainments in office prior to his suspension.
It needs to be appreciated that on arrival in the state, the sole administrator commendably launched a fact-finding exercise to come to grips with the state of affairs himself. And given his stellar antecedents, his opinion on any situation enjoys oracular authority. That is why his reflections after inspecting at least two of Fubara’s landmark projects – the reconstruction of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Trans Kalabari road project – have raised the bar in favour of the governor before the entire Rivers State, Nigeria and the world at large as a good manager of public resources. For instance, during the inspection of the reconstruction of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex on Saturday, March 22, 2025, the sole administrator was reported to have acknowledged the satisfactory progress of the project, especially by the Siminalayi Fubara-led administration; hence he had expressed the hope of resolving the legislative impasse, which remains a key factor for the state of emergency during the course of his tenure. He also urged the contractor to ensure the delivery of the project on schedule.
Also, during his inspection of the iconic Trans Kalabari road project, Admiral Rear Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas also gave a pass mark to the administration of Siminalayi Fubara for a good job done, at least with respect to its scheduling and funding. Beyond acknowledging the progress of work, the sole administrator also hailed the vision behind the project, especially as it offers acceleration of economic development for Kalabari communities.
Other areas of convergence of the enterprise of Fubara as governor and the intervention of the sole administrator, though numerous, are not mentioned here due to space constraint. But suffice it to be stated here that so far, hardly has there been any instance of gross misconduct associated with Fubara as governor.
Incidentally, while an early vindication of the Fubara administration may be seen in some quarters as too early in the day, with the argument that more groundwork may be necessary for a more comprehensive assessment of the governor’s performance with respect to projects and other areas, the importance of these two tenure-defining projects by Fubara cannot be overemphasised. While it may also be presumed that with the sole administrator still early in his six-month tenure, which is due to end in August 2025, to make any definitive statement on the governor, the status of these two projects dispose them as test cases for the governor’s performance and the justification of the wide spread appeal he enjoys across the entire state. For instance, the Rivers State House of Assembly, which status was misconstrued by the president as one of the alibis for the state of emergency, has been identified by the sole administrator as a veritable work in progress. The president had presumed its destruction and delayed reconstruction as one of the strategies by Fubara to frustrate the legislature in the state. However, while the circumstances of its damage remain the concern of several litigatory processes, its ongoing completion ahead of the sole administrator serves to vindicate Fubara.
With respect to the Trans Kalabari road, the project has come to be a defining effort by Fubara to foster inclusiveness in governance for the beneficiary Kalabari communities. Given that the Kalabari, with as many as over 500 inhabited communities occupying over 12,000sq kilometres or about 15 per cent of the total land and mostly marshy area of Rivers State, have only 21 kilometers of motorable road, the promise and impact of the Trans Kalabari road become more graphic.
In the final analysis, whatever case that may be contrived against Siminalayi Fubara mirrors the African saying that when the innocent ram is being slaughtered, the sheep is not happy, even if all she can do is watch the sordid drama in pain. Rivers people are watching the travails of Siminalayi Fubara in pains, even as his ultimate vindication unfolds progressively.