RIVERS: WIKE RULES OUT IMPOSING COMMISSIONERS ON FUBARA
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By: Sefiu Ajape
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said he has no plans to recommend commissioners to Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the latter resumes office in Rivers State following a six-month emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu.
Wike made this known in an interview with Channels Television on Thursday.
Tinubu had imposed emergency rule in March after a prolonged political crisis between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike. The dispute was widely linked to claims that Wike attempted to influence appointments in the state government.
However, speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Wike dismissed the allegations, stressing 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.
He emphasised that the governor must be allowed to run the affairs of the oil-rich South-South state without external interference.
The political rift between Wike and Fubara began shortly after Fubara assumed office in May 2023.
By October, the crisis intensified when lawmakers loyal to Wike in the Rivers State House of Assembly attempted to impeach the governor.
In retaliation, Fubara ordered the demolition of the Assembly complex after a suspicious fire outbreak, prompting legislators to relocate their sittings.
The conflict deepened in the following months, throwing governance into chaos.
In December 2023, President Bola Tinubu stepped in, brokering a fragile peace deal under which Fubara conceded several political appointments to Wike’s loyalists.
That truce later collapsed, reigniting tensions. On March 18, 2025, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing escalating insecurity and administrative breakdown.
The 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.).
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