The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has stated that he will not make any imposition on Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the latter resumes office in Rivers State following a six-month emergency rule imposed by President Bola Tinubu.
Wike made this disclosure during an interview on Channels TV on Thursday.
Recall that the emergency rule was declared in March after a prolonged political crisis between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.
The tension was widely attributed to claims that Wike had attempted to influence appointments within the state government.
However, during his appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Wike sought to distance himself from such allegations, insisting that he would not interfere in Fubara’s administration. “I cannot go and impose anything on the governor. Why would I impose anything on the governor? Assuming I go to the governor and say, ‘I want this,’ will the state collapse? I will not. I have no candidate, and I will not,” Wike said.
The FCT minister emphasized the importance of allowing the governor to manage the affairs of Rivers State without external interference.
The political rift between Wike and Fubara began shortly after Fubara assumed office in May 2023. By October of that year, the dispute had escalated when lawmakers loyal to Wike in the Rivers State House of Assembly moved to impeach the governor. In response, Fubara ordered the demolition of the Assembly complex after a suspicious fire broke out, forcing legislators to conduct their sittings at temporary venues.
As the power struggle deepened in the following months, the state’s governance was thrown into turmoil. In December 2023, President Tinubu intervened, facilitating a fragile peace deal in which Fubara ceded several political appointments to Wike’s loyalists. However, the truce ultimately collapsed, reigniting hostilities between the two political figures.
On March 18, 2025, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing escalating insecurity and administrative paralysis. This decision suspended Fubara’s executive powers for six months and appointed a sole administrator, former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.).
