You know, the political drama in Rivers State just keeps getting more intense, and it’s something everyone’s talking about, especially with Democracy Day just around the corner.
The APC, that’s the All Progressives Congress, in Rivers State, they’ve just dropped a pretty serious warning for the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Their message is clear: if he doesn’t genuinely try to make peace, he could face impeachment.
During the press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, and Tony Okocha, who’s the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, he didn’t mince words. He said, “Look, there’s no real reconciliation happening in Rivers State right now.” He made it sound like Fubara hasn’t even taken any proper steps to mend fences with the state lawmakers who were duly elected. Okocha emphasized that only a true reconciliation can save the governor, especially since the Supreme Court’s judgment on the matter is still standing.
Now, this warning comes at a really interesting time. You have these youth groups in Rivers State, a whole coalition of them, who are actually calling on President Bola Tinubu to step in. They want him to bring back democratic governance to the state and, crucially, reinstate Fubara before June 12th, which is Democracy Day.
It’s important to remember what happened back on March 18, 2025. That’s when President Tinubu actually imposed a state of emergency on Rivers State. He suspended the governor, his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, and even the members of the State House of Assembly. And get this: he then appointed a Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retired), to run things for six months.
This whole mess, as you might recall, came from a really drawn-out power struggle between the former governor, Nyesom Wike (who’s now the FCT Minister), and Governor Fubara. It’s been a tough fight for supremacy.
While the governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have actually challenged the President’s actions in court, we’ve also seen some recent meetings involving Tinubu, Wike, and Fubara. These meetings really got people talking, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, some kind of reconciliation was happening.
But according to Tony Okocha of the APC, don’t get too excited about those meetings when it comes to the impeachment threat. He made it clear that even if Fubara decided to join the APC – which, by the way, Okocha says hasn’t happened yet and would have a proper procedure – it wouldn’t magically wipe away his “wrongdoings.” He was quite firm, saying the APC isn’t a “dumping ground” for people to escape consequences. He insisted that Fubara’s suspension and the state of emergency weren’t politically motivated; they were because of his “misconduct.”
Okocha even mentioned that Fubara hasn’t spoken to him, and if he were to join the APC, he’d have to come through the proper channels, starting from his ward. He confirmed no such defection information has reached them.
Someone asked Okocha if he was worried about Fubara meeting with the President. He just shrugged it off, saying, “Why would I be worried if someone visits my President?” He reminded us it was Sallah season, a time when many people pay respects. He even joked that if he had applied, he might have been there with his team too. He saw Wike with the President, so it’s not unusual.
Meanwhile, this youth coalition I mentioned earlier – the South-South Youths Initiative and the Coalition of Rivers State Youth Bodies – they released a statement in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. They are furious. They called the President’s actions in suspending Fubara “reckless, unconstitutional, and an affront to Nigeria’s democracy.”
Imeabe Oscar, who’s the National President of the South-South Youths Initiative and heads the Rivers State Youth Bodies coalition, signed that statement. He said, “As we celebrate Democracy Day on June 12, we need to think about what democratic governance and the rule of law truly mean in our country.” He then pointed out that “recent events in Rivers State have raised concerns about the health of our democracy,” specifically calling out the suspension of Fubara, Ngozi Odu, and the House of Assembly members as a “dent” in Nigeria’s democratic process.
Their plea to the President is simple: please, bring back democratic order to Rivers State by reinstating the suspended elected officials.
So, there you have it. The situation in Rivers is still very much a hot topic, with the APC pushing for reconciliation to avoid impeachment, and youth groups pushing for the President to restore the governor before Democracy Day. It’s a complex web of power, politics, and a looming threat.
