With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state. The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same. I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms:
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same. I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms:
“a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected
“are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated.
Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected
“are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated.
Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.
Hmmmmmmmmmm!!
ReplyDeleteMe I no they in support of the suspension of the Governor, mbok.
ReplyDeleteThe president has spoken
ReplyDeleteSo no sanction on the originator of the problem in the state who has been parading himself as mini god threatening thunder and fire ?
ReplyDeleteE shock you? 🙄🙄🙄
DeleteYou mean the man who entered an agreement with a political family and decided to become an emperor on day one?
DeleteYou mean the man who demolished the sitting venue of an entire arm of government and was presenting budget to 4 people who passed it within days as if it was a housewife's shopping list? ?
You mean the man who was threatening that at the right time, militants will get his signal and he will lead them or the one who did not take any steps to quell the vandalism in his state since it started?
Is it the one who refused to communicate formally with the house of assembly, to ask for a later date for budget presentation when they wrote to him properly or the one that was sending his budget to the state assembly via WhatsApp and then dragging with innocent gate men at the residence of legislators - a site he had earlier inspected for demolition? Is it the man who directed his boys to write the house speaker as if they are at a peppersoup joint, going with pride instead of protocol to waste time?
Is it the one who has been sponsoring political jobbers to insult the apparatus that brought him into office as if he has a political structure of his own? Is it the man who cannot even convince house members of his tribe to follow him? Is it a man that was the accountant general to a newly minted devil but suddenly presents as a saint when they gave him the gauntlet to sip and return, threatening fire and brimstone on a table populated by a thousands-strong cult? Did he not know the face is only a part of the head?
Court of law is different from family meeting. Wike may grant every interview he wants and get frustrated people irate but what can Fubara sue him for? What can he prove that will not implicate him? Ali Baba nominated a fellow thief and that fellow thief wants to retire his colleagues - that kind thing go easy?
He should use these 6 months to talk to himself. The obese warriors hailing him will rest after just a few weeks in detention and the khaki boys taking over the business. If you threaten a couple, will the military have time for dialogue and amnesty? Anger will cost you. Pride will cost you more. Have little to do with people who have nothing to lose. If you are in already, be as humble as that president that was allegedly burgling the houses of strong men to kneel before them and even beg his deputy. He lived long enough to finish his term and deny it.
Sorry to wike and his relatives,ijaw no de forgive.
DeleteThis is bye bye to rivers State for him.
Tinubu invited LAGOS members to Abuja during the crisis to solve it why didn't he do same in rivers
Election 2027 moves are being made. Wike, Welldone inugo .
ReplyDeletefear short men
So that APC will take over Rivers
ReplyDeleteLike we don’t know
They asked for it. At least, Wike s assembly guys feeling cool and d weak and ill advised governor should go and rest and stop their power play. The governors biggest mistake was demolition of d assembly complex. Who does that?
ReplyDeleteSuspending a democratically elected governor is a clear abuse of authority. If Fubara and Rivers State leaders surrender to Wike and President Tinubu's control, it would be a cowardly act, undermining the democratic process and the will of the people.
ReplyDeleteDOZZYBEST
Toin, every word, every line of your comment hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteThe governor indeed is ill advised. The assembly complex was allergedly torched, then demolished (all in an attempt to stop the legislators from moving a motion for the governor's impeachment) under the guise of erecting a new one.
Over a year after, no new complex, yet he wants to present the budget to the members in their residential quarters (which you equally wanted to demolish).
Tinubu get the powers? The answer is YES.
ReplyDeleteFor Section 305 (1) of our Constitution, the President get power to declare State of Emergency for any State.
Everybody sha dey quote this constitution. Na waoh. He has the power to declare state of emergency, but he LACKS the power to suspend or remove a DEMOCRATICALLY elected governor. The governor can ONLY be removed by the house of assembly. We are in a democracy. Why would he appoint an admiral to take over a democratic government? All of us suppose get sense, and know this politics na.
DeleteMEANWHILE, I don’t feel pity for Rivers state. When wike rigged the election to favor the present administration, weren’t they all cheering ? Ehn make all man bear the consequences of their actions.
ALSO, when GEJ was president, weren’t can VIVIDLY remember what apc did, both in crisis, insults, wishes, civil unrest, wars,tribalism, etc. y’all chill. If you don’t believe in KARMA, atleast believe in God. What ever a man sows, he shall reap. The administration is like that food craving you want so bad, but when you finally gets it, you don’t enjoy it because you already lost appetite.
This one,any where belle face.
DeleteCan this same energy match farmers/ herders clash because there is shortages of food in town.
ReplyDeleteGood one,those miserable pro Wike law makers,can go list,fubara's sins in hell,for six months. 🙄🙄🙄
ReplyDeleteWikes's script acted and delivered. I live in Lagos and has no business with Fubara but the way Wike has been threatening, you will assume he is the chief monarch of Rivers State! Anyways, I thank God because "The earth is the Lord's 'the Bible is very complete 🙌
ReplyDeleteTinibu’s interest in the state is even bigger than Wikes own. Only the smarter will understand
ReplyDeleteIjaw boys won't allow them lift the oil.
DeleteIt's an assault on democracy.
This is just sad
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't he also suspend fct Minister? Two people are fighting, you suspended one and left the other one. Na wa.
ReplyDeleteIs he a member of the state assembly or a governor? Your friend dared you to drink poison, and your ghost is complaining of loneliness: to die done day hungry you before. Rivers is not Edo. Some roofs you bring down will press you for neck.
DeleteThis is how you ignorantly claim that the courts are corrupt. The president's speech made clear the line of reasoning and clear breaches to section 305. The federal legislature will seat in a few days and hopefully, ratify this thing so everyone, ms Pepple and Ugo Chiyere and those profiting from breached agreement can rest. This is how you were hailing 4 adults acting drama, calling it a legislative quorum. You prefer to learn via the pain of your own experience instead of the experience of others. See as seasoned political actors in Edo, Imo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Lagos have settled matter without destruction yet , you want to pretend as if you didn't get the seat by sucking up and being submissive. The Wike you are blaming has remained the volatile, vindictive, cantankerous, crass individual he has always been. His team has also remained the same. If you want to behead such helpers, don't miss.
Is godfather an office recognised by the constitution? Is there any proof of Wike doing anything? Yet, his boy keeps leaving evidence everywhere, demolishing, delaying, diverting and distracting.
If Fubara had stayed behind and fallen on the president for protection when he took PANDEF to the villa days ago, maybe be would have treated the president's last advice more seriously than the others he ignored. If he had taken drastic action action to secure the pipelines over the past 2 days and arrest arsonists breaking down law and order, even requested help and distanced himself from the threats he made earlier, the president won't have the grounds to declare a state of emergency. Read the publication of the notice of misconduct from the house and you will realise that Fubara is the biggest beneficiary of the state of emergency if his knees will not betray him once again.
Since when people have been blaming devil for their crimes, how many days has he served in prison?
If the appointment of a sole administrator is thrown out by a court due to the legal lacuna, he is coming back for impeachment and the chief justice's leg no too strong. If he doesn't have sense on time, na the administrator and the people who put Fubara there (those he was worshipping as god before longer throat came in) that will write result in that state come 2027.
Add to your knowledge. It will help you.
DeleteHmmm the ministry will take over soon
ReplyDeleteFubara is an example to anyone fighting a battle with someone higher
ReplyDeleteHe shot his gun too early,too quick too premature.
The person you are up against has more experience,more money,more connections,more human resource more allegiances. Why not balance first,why not build a team first,why not strategize, the first few months after installment you are fighting your boss,you told him early that there’s a battle.
You may be fighting a good cause but if war is not properly planned it becomes a caricature. I don’t know who is advising you but you would lain low learn the ropes build capacity organism structures before launching attack.
A warriors strength is that his secrets are fiercely guarded. This goes for people who talk too much,too forward and too early
You abort visions,you equip your enemy you fight unending battles.
Take this as a lesion as work on yourself
Fubara go Dey 6 months go pass,dem fit extend am or whatever before you know 4 years has passed but if he kept quiet formed loyalty and learnt the ropes use his years to build a team a formidable one then use wisdom to enter second tenure before starting a fight
Someone singlehanded picked you ,you didn’t campaign one day,rivers people don’t even know you,you weren’t variable in grassroots politics.you won on the account of one man. You wake up and just start fight
Na wa for you and those supporting you
I’m not a wike supporter but when he went to that Italy and back you know this battle took a different turn
May the best man win
Na una sabi
Hmmmm
ReplyDeleteAnon mk I follow you do Hmmm,Nawa for wike abi Fubara and his people
ReplyDeleteIt has started again. Those days when online trolls are employed to silence the opinions of structured reasoning. Anon I sight you.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happens in Rivers State, they should make sure no life is lost.
Sooo many issues at least now they can rest a bit
ReplyDeleteWhoever adviced the President to declare this State of Emergency, really did him dirty.
ReplyDeleteBeyond all the political drama between Wike and Fubara, there is a reason that all Presidents, apart from Obasanjo, never brought back the military to administer a state.
With all the militant crisis in the Niger Delta YarAdua did not. With all the BokoHaram, Jonathan never suspended the Governors of the North East. With all the IPOB and herdsmen attacks, even Buhari, a former military General did not suspend the sitting Governors and install a military administrator.
A civilian President just emboldened the military, and it is so sad that none of his advisors could point this out.
Point wetin out? Na stomach infrastructure dem all dey dia 4
Delete