Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has laid bare his frustration over the relentless political turmoil in the state, declaring he has “suffered too much” for remaining silent. At the commissioning of the Ahoada-Omoku road extension on December 10, 2025, Fubara cleared the air on his strained relationship with the State House of Assembly, insisting his quiet stance was a strategic choice to avoid further trouble while awaiting a properly arranged dialogue.
The Governor used the event, which showcased a vital 28.4km dual-carriageway built by Julius Berger, to set the record straight. “I want to thank the Almighty God for making this day possible… even in the face of our challenges, we are still focused on delivering the dividends of democracy,” he stated. On the core political conflict, Fubara struck a conciliatory tone towards lawmakers, saying, “I do not have a problem with members of the state Assembly here. I don’t have any issue with them.”
He explained that failed attempts at reconciliation were due to the assembly’s insistence that meetings be arranged through a third party. “I have made every effort to meet with them, but they don’t want me to call them directly. It was for my leader to arrange the meeting, which up till this moment that meeting has not been fixed,” Fubara said, referring to his predecessor and political godfather, Nyesom Wike. He labeled narratives of his refusal to engage as “pure lies,” pledging to meet their needs for peace. “I have suffered too much because of a single story… A lot of things happened and nobody has heard my own side,” he added, urging unity for the state’s sake.
The Rivers political crisis, which provided the tense backdrop for this commissioning, began bubbling in October 2023. The state House of Assembly complex was set ablaze on the eve of an impeachment plot against Fubara by 26 lawmakers loyal to then-FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. The pro-Wike faction had accused Fubara and his deputy of gross misconduct. What began as a rift between the godfather and his anointed successor quickly escalated into defections and legal battles. By December 2023, 27 lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a move Fubara’s loyalists declared vacant, sparking a legislative standoff.
The crisis reached a crescendo in early 2025. On February 28, the Supreme Court delivered a pivotal judgment, upholding the pro-Wike lawmakers as the legitimate assembly, nullifying Fubara’s 2024 local government elections, and throwing out the budget he presented to a pro-Fubara faction. The resultant governance vacuum led to increased instability, including pipeline vandalism and critical budget delays. Citing a “total paralysis of governance” and threats to national economic assets, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, 2025. He suspended Fubara, his deputy, and the entire assembly for six months, appointing retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator.
Emergency rule lasted until September 18, 2025, when President Tinubu lifted it, citing a “new spirit of understanding” among stakeholders. During those six months, the administrator focused on stabilizing security, paying salaries, and beginning reconstruction of the burnt assembly complex. Peace talks brokered by the President in mid-2025 brought Fubara and Wike to the table, but the fragile détente soon showed cracks. By December 5, 2025, Speaker Martins Amaewhule and 17 pro-Wike lawmakers defected to the APC, citing irreparable divisions within the PDP.
Governor Fubara himself followed suit days later, announcing his own defection to the APC at a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt on December 9, 2025. He framed the move as necessary for peace and development, crediting President Tinubu with saving his political career. “If President Tinubu had not intervened, there wouldn’t be a Siminalayi Fubara today,” he stated, claiming the PDP failed to protect him during the crisis. The PDP dismissed his defection as a “self-inflicted injury.”
Adding further fuel to the fire, former Head of Service George Nwaeke, who resigned in March 2025, recently made explosive allegations. He accused Fubara of ordering the 2023 assembly bombing to avoid impeachment and of conspiring with militants to attack pipelines. Fubara fired back, asserting Nwaeke was “paid or coerced to lie,” a sentiment echoed by leaders from Nwaeke’s own Etche community, who disowned his claims as “externally influenced falsehoods.”
Through it all, Fubara now claims his focus remains on governance. The newly commissioned Ahoada-Omoku road, fulfilling a 2023 campaign promise, is presented as proof of this commitment, designed to ease travel and boost commerce in the Rivers West region. He tied his recent political shift to creating a conducive environment for such projects. “We can’t thrive in an atmosphere of rancour. Development can’t come to our state when there is continuous disunity,” Fubara said, vowing to implement the APC’s Renewed Hope agenda across all local government areas.
