Rivers Governor Fubara Returns After Six-Month Emergency Rule

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State on Friday returned to the state after a six-month absence, following the expiration of emergency rule declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March.

Fubara’s flight touched down at the Port Harcourt International Airport at about 12:19 p.m., where he was received by a large crowd of supporters who had converged on the VIP wing hours before his arrival.

His return comes more than 24 hours after President Tinubu officially ended the emergency rule on Wednesday, restoring civil governance in the oil-rich state.

On Thursday, the Rivers State House of Assembly resumed plenary, but Fubara did not show up at the Government House despite the hundreds of residents who had gathered there to welcome him.

Commenting on the development, his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, said on Channels Television’s Politics Today that the governor was under no legal compulsion to resume on the same day the emergency rule was lifted.

Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, were suspended from governance on March 18, 2025, when President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing a deepening political crisis.

The President also appointed retired naval chief, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, as sole administrator of the state. In his farewell broadcast on Wednesday night, Ibas urged political actors in Rivers to embrace mutual respect and dialogue going forward.

The crisis traces back to months after Fubara’s inauguration in May 2023, when he fell out with Wike over political control of the state a recurring tussle between incumbent governors and their predecessors in Nigeria. The dispute soon engulfed the State House of Assembly, splitting lawmakers into rival camps. 

In June, President Tinubu convened a peace meeting with Fubara, Wike, House Speaker Martin Amaewhule, and other stakeholders, signaling a temporary truce among the key players.

During his administration, Ibas oversaw the inauguration of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), chaired by Michael Odey. This led to the conduct of local government elections across the state’s 23 councils on August 30, in which the All Progressives Congress (APC) won 20 chairmanship seats, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured three.

With Fubara now back at the helm, attention shifts to how he will navigate governance after months of political instability and whether reconciliation with Wike and other stakeholders will hold.

The governor’s return has already energized his supporters, but political analysts say restoring public trust, stabilizing the House of Assembly, and managing Rivers’ volatile political climate will be his immediate challenges.