‘Thank Tinubu for saving you from impeachment’, Wike tells Fubara

The Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, has thrown his weight behind the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.

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On 18 March, Mr Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the state assembly.

The president cited the prolonged political crisis in the state caused by the political feud between Mr Wike and Governor Fubara as the reason for his action. He appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired chief of naval staff, as sole administrator for the state.

Mr Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers, has been battling with his successor, Mr Fubara, over the control of political power and resources in the oil-rich state.

In an interview with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Mr Wike said Governor Fubara should be thankful to President Tinubu for saving him, that he (Wike) wanted outright removal of the governor.

“I wanted the outright removal of the governor. But for the interest of the state, the president did the right thing to prevent anarchy,” Mr Wike told reporters.

Fubara was gone, Tinubu saved him – Wike

The political and legal tussles in Rivers, which began in late 2023, culminated in the Supreme Court judgement that invalidated last year’s local election in the state, stopped federal allocations to Rivers, restored Mr Wike allies as legitimate members of the state assembly and ordered Mr Fubara to represent the already signed 2025 budget to a properly constituted assembly led by Martin Amaewhule as speaker.

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On their first sitting after the court victory, the lawmakers gave Mr Fubara a 48-hour ultimatum to present the 2025 budget to them.

Mr Fubara, who had begun implementing the court verdict by directing local government chairpersons to vacate office, said in a statewide broadcast that he would implement other parts of the judgement after receiving the certified true copy.

This notwithstanding, the lawmakers served Mr Fubara an impeachment notice over alleged gross misconduct, including the governor’s failure to present the budget within the window they gave him.

In his first reaction to the allegations of gross misconduct made against the governor by his allies, Mr Wike said he would not stop the lawmakers from impeaching Mr Fubara.

In his Friday press interview, Mr Wike said Governor Fubara “had gone”, but Mr Tinubu saved him with the emergency rule.

“The governor was gone. He was gone, yes. So when people say the president did this, I say they should be praising him,” Mr Wike said, reechoing the earlier statement made by his colleague, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, who said Mr Tinubu’s state of emergency saved Governor Fubara from being impeached.

“Every morning, they should go to the president and ask, can we wash your feet for saving us,” Mr Wike added, suggesting that Mr Fubara should be grateful for his suspension.

Mr Wike told reporters he was willing to forgive his successor, provided Mr Fubara showed sincerity in seeking forgiveness.

What other Nigerians said about emergency rule

Contrary to Mr Wike’s submission that emergency rule was for the state’s best interest, many Nigerians and groups said it has further escalated tension and deepened divisions in the state, already divided by political interests and factional alliances.

The national leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association said Mr Ibas, who was appointed to restore peace in the crisis-torn state, is governing the state with impunity and disregard for judicial pronouncements.

In protest of the emergency rule, the NBA moved its 2025 conference, which was earlier scheduled for Port Harcourt, to Enugu in Enugu State.

The chairpersons of all eight branches of NBA in Rivers blamed the relocation of the conference on the actions of Mr Ibas, whom they said has dismantled already established democratic institutions and made fresh appointments without approval of the National Assembly.

“The actions of the sole administrator have also become one of the reasons for the unfortunate relocation of the venue of the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association from Rivers State to Enugu State, leading an immeasurable colossal loss to businesses in Rivers State especially in the hospitality industry, and loss of job opportunity for the period.

“The conference was expected to cater for 30,000 lawyers, thereby boosting the economy of the state, but has now been sadly impacted by the fallout of the declared state of emergency,” the chairpersons said.