Barring last-minute changes, suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, and the 32-member House of Assembly may return to office on September 18, 2025, following fresh directives from President Bola Tinubu.
This development came after a closed-door meeting last Wednesday between the President and the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd), at the Presidential Villa.
Tinubu’s Order to Ibas
According to credible sources, President Tinubu “ordered” Ibas to prepare and submit a comprehensive handover note of his six-month emergency administration before his 10-day vacation ends.
The handover report, the source explained, must detail:
- Funds inherited from Governor Fubara,
- Revenues generated during the six-month emergency rule and their sources,
- Expenditures made under Ibas’ stewardship,
- And “the various projects the funds were channeled into within the period under review, with clear specifications.”
Failed Push for Extension
The directive has effectively ended a spirited push within the National Assembly for a three-month extension of emergency rule, which would have kept Ibas in charge until December 2025.
Supporters of the extension had argued that “the three months window would allow Ibas to complete some of the key ongoing projects like the reconstruction of the demolished House of Assembly Complex, the ongoing workers verification exercise and the installation of sensitive equipment in government institutions.”
Had the move succeeded, Governor Fubara and other democratic institutions in Rivers would not have been restored until January 2026.
Wike Opposes Backdoor Moves
However, insiders revealed that Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, opposed the extension plot and insisted the emergency rule must end as scheduled.
“Wike is vehemently against such backdoor scheme and wants the emergency rule lifted as soon as practicable on September 18,” one source disclosed.
Recall that on August 30, after casting his vote in the local government elections, Wike publicly declared that the governor and lawmakers were ready to return to Government House. Two days later, the APC state chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, reinforced the message, stressing that the September 18 date was “sacrosanct.”
Tinubu’s Likely Pronouncement
Another insider revealed that Ibas was instructed to ensure the report reaches the President “two days before his return from vacation,” noting that “the President may likely make a pronouncement to lift the emergency rule on September 18, a date that would make it exactly six months since the state of emergency was proclaimed.”
It will be recalled that on March 18, President Tinubu imposed emergency rule in Rivers to quell the political crisis between Wike and Fubara.
Pressure from International Stage
A Port Harcourt-based human rights activist, who asked not to be named, warned that global scrutiny may also shape Tinubu’s decision.
“Upon his return from vacation, Mr. President’s next foreign trip would be to New York where he is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly. There, he is going to be face to face with advanced democracies and civil societies. It is only morally right, as a self-styled democrat, for him to lift the suspension and restore all democratic institutions in Rivers state to avoid a backlash from the harsh American media,” he said.
Fubara Prepares for Comeback
Meanwhile, Governor Fubara, who is currently in London with his family, is expected to return to Nigeria soon.
“When he returns, he will then be handed over a list of political appointees including commissioners that he will work with,” another source revealed.
[VANGUARD]
