A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, has claimed that suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara will have “zero powers” when he returns to office following the expiration of his suspension.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Cole — the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate in Rivers — said Fubara is likely to face severe limitations in exercising executive authority, describing the political situation in the state as deeply troubling.
“We cannot be in a situation where we have an elected governor of a state like Rivers — a very critical state not just for the people of Rivers but Nigeria as a whole — and what you then see is a governor that has zero powers. I don’t think it portends well at all,” Cole said.
According to him, Fubara is unlikely to be able to make independent decisions without interference, particularly in light of ongoing tensions with his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
“The governor will find himself in a very difficult situation. The way politics plays out in Nigeria, outgoing governors often install successors to protect their political interests. But when the new governor is left alone to govern, things progress. Where that doesn’t happen, we often end up in a godfather-godson battle — and that has never been good for democracy. Where it happens, the people suffer.”
Cole said that Fubara’s best option would be to reach a political understanding with Wike to create a functional power-sharing arrangement.
“If I were him, I would now sit down with the Honourable Minister and appeal for some leeway — to allow certain decisions to be made by me as governor, and others by him — in line with whatever peace agreement they had,” he advised.
“The truth is, we do not know the full details of the peace deal. So we can’t say exactly what powers Fubara still has.”
Political turmoil in Rivers
Governor Fubara was suspended by President Bola Tinubu on March 18, 2025, after months of political crisis between his administration and the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly. Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast, declared a state of emergency in the state, citing worsening instability and invoking Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution.
As part of the emergency measures, Tinubu suspended the governor, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly for six months. He appointed retired naval officer Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as the sole administrator of Rivers State — a move that drew both support and criticism across political lines.
The crisis stemmed from a bitter power struggle between Fubara and Wike, his political godfather and predecessor. Tensions escalated over control of the state’s political structure and loyalty of lawmakers, many of whom were aligned with Wike.
In June 2025, President Tinubu convened a closed-door reconciliation meeting with Fubara, Wike, Amaewhule, and other political stakeholders. The outcome of the meeting signaled a truce, but the specifics of the agreement were not made public.
Fubara is expected to return to office on Thursday, September 18, 2025, when his six-month suspension officially ends.
