The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has expressed dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, revealing he had preferred the outright removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
“As a politician, I am not happy with the declaration of Emergency Rule in Rivers State. I wanted the outright removal of the governor,” Wike said during a press parley in Abuja on Friday.
He, however, admitted that President Tinubu acted in the interest of the state to prevent further political anarchy.
Last month, President Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the entire Rivers State House of Assembly due to rising political instability and pipeline explosion threats. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas was appointed sole administrator to stabilize the situation—an action that has drawn mixed reactions across Nigeria.
Wike, who governed Rivers before Fubara, has had a long-standing political feud with the current governor. The rivalry has split the State Assembly, with 27 lawmakers defecting from the PDP to APC, creating parallel legislative factions with two rival speakers.
He stressed that the crisis had deteriorated beyond control, making emergency intervention a last resort, although not his preferred choice.
