Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has expressed dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Wike voiced his concerns during a media parley in Abuja on Friday, stating that the emergency rule was not the outcome he had hoped for amid the ongoing political crisis in the state.
“I am not happy with the state of emergency,” the former Rivers governor said.
Last month, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing persistent political instability and worsening security threats, including recent pipeline explosions.
As part of the declaration, the president suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the House of Assembly for six months. He described the action as “inevitably compelling” based on intelligence and security reports.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas was appointed as the sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs pending the resolution of the crisis — a move that has stirred widespread debate nationwide.
During the parley, Wike, who served as governor of Rivers State until 2023, said his preference was for Fubara’s outright removal.
“As a politician, I am not happy with the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State. I wanted the outright removal of the governor,” he said. “But for the interest of the state, the president did the right thing to prevent anarchy.”
“The matter is in court, but people must speak the truth. The governor was gone. It’s not my responsibility to make things easier for him. As a politician, my business is not to make him comfortable — that’s why there’s a power play.”
Wike and Fubara have been at odds since the latter assumed office, in what has become a prolonged power struggle for control over the state’s political and administrative structures.
The feud has also fractured the state House of Assembly, with 27 members suspended after defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), resulting in factional leadership and the emergence of a parallel assembly.
