FUBARA, DEPUTY RETURN TO POWER AS RIVERS EMERGENCY RULE ENDS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, are set to resume leadership of Rivers State today, six months after President Bola Tinubu imposed emergency rule on the oil-rich state.
Excited supporters thronged the Government House in Port Harcourt on Thursday morning to welcome the duo back, while emergency service officials were stationed on the ground to ensure order.
Fubara and Odu had been sidelined since March 18, when Tinubu declared a state of emergency following a deepening political crisis in the state. Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas was appointed sole administrator during the period and formally handed over power on Wednesday night.
In his farewell address, Ibas urged political actors in Rivers to embrace mutual respect and dialogue, stressing that peace had been the foundation of his interim stewardship.
The crisis in Rivers erupted months after Fubara’s May 2023 inauguration, when he fell out with his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over control of the state’s political structure. The feud polarized the House of Assembly and threatened governance.
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Tinubu justified the emergency rule as necessary to avert anarchy, though by June he convened a peace meeting involving Fubara, Wike, House Speaker Martin Amaewhule, and other key figures, signaling reconciliation. The governor and his predecessor were later seen together at a public function in the state.
Despite opposition, Ibas went on to inaugurate the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) in July, which conducted local government elections on August 30. The All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 20 out of 23 councils, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won three.
With Tinubu’s Wednesday proclamation ending the emergency rule, Fubara and his deputy are now expected to steer the state through the next phase of governance amid calls for unity and stability.
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