- Ibas under fire for removing Fubara deputy’s vehicles, others
- Pensioners decry non-payment of N2bn monthly gratuity
- Outstanding gratuity’ll be paid soon – government assures
The Point has learnt that the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, recently visited the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, at his Abuja residence to beg for reconciliation.
According to credible sources, the visit came a few days after Fubara held a meeting in London with President Bola Tinubu over his (Fubara) political feud with Wike, which led to Tinubu declaring an emergency rule in the oil-rich Rivers and suspending Fubara and other elected officials for an initial six months.
Sources disclosed that Fubara was led by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru and Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun.
“Fubara was brought to the minister’s house on Friday, 18 April. He prostrated for Wike while holding his legs and calling him, ‘My Oga’.
“He was in Wike’s house till the wee hours of Saturday, 19 April,” the source added.
The meeting outcome remains a secret, as those familiar with it have been unwilling to speak.
However, it was gathered that Fubara was told to assemble his supporters in Rivers, especially the elders, and tell them the “truth” about his feud with Wike.
Wike’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, confirmed that the meeting occurred, but said he was not privy to what was discussed.
Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, fell apart in less than six months after Fubara assumed office as governor.
The political crisis split the state’s legislature into two factions, with 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike and three to Fubara.
The governor had recognised the three-member faction because he believed the others “lost” their seats in the assembly since they had “defected” from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
However, the February 28, 2025 Supreme Court judgement tipped the balance of power in favour of Wike and his allies.
The court reinstated the pro-Wike faction as the legitimate Rivers assembly, stopped federal allocations to the state, and nullified the local elections earlier conducted by Fubara’s administration.
On March 14, the Rivers House of Assembly served a notice of alleged misconduct against Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, as a preliminary step for their impeachment.
In a notice addressed to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, the 26 lawmakers, among other things, accused Fubara of spending Rivers funds without approval from the state assembly and appointing people to run the government without the required screening and confirmation.
The lawmakers also accused Fubara of hindering or obstructing the assembly from its constitutional functions and seizing salaries, allowances, and funds belonging to lawmakers, the clerk, and the assembly.
They accused the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Odu, of “conniving and supporting the illegal appointment of persons to occupy offices/positions in the Rivers State Government without allowing for the requirement of screening and confirmation”.
The impeachment plot began about the time Fubara removed the elected chairpersons of the local councils in obedience to the Supreme Court rulings. The governor said he was willing to implement all the Supreme Court’s decisions.
Nigerians have expressed outrage over the emergency rule in Rivers and the removal of Fubara and other elected officials.
Fubara didn’t kneel down before Wike, says sacked Rivers council chairman
However, the removed Chairman of Port Harcourt Local Government Area, Ezebunwo Ichemati, has dismissed as false and misleading the reports that Fubara recently knelt before Wike to beg for forgiveness.
Ichemati described the narrative as mere propaganda.
He insisted there was no truth to the claim that Fubara knelt or lay down before anyone to regain political favour, stressing that the reports were fabricated to mislead the public.
He said: “Someone who did not lie down on the ground to beg or lobby to be governor, cannot also do the same to remain as one.
“In war, no one party takes all the blame, so needless is the propaganda of a particular group begging.
“Genuine reconciliation comes with negotiations and shifting of grounds by all the parties involved and not begging.”
Ichemati asked members of the public to ignore the lies, saying they should not believe everything.
He said Fubara was in high spirits and committed to the peace and development of Rivers, insisting that he would not do so with his knees on the ground.
He said, “Ignore the lies of begging, even if you are mumu no be every lie you suppose to hear and believe na, even if it tickles your fancy or massages your camp’s ego.
“We need peace for the development of Rivers State. Governor Siminalayi Fubara is in very high spirits and passionately committed to the peaceful development of Rivers State, one he’ll not do with his knees on the ground, no matter how humble you think he is.”
Ibas under fire for removing Fubara deputy’s vehicles, others
Meanwhile, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), has been criticized for ordering naval personnel to the residence of the suspended deputy governor of the state, Prof. Ngozi Odu, and forcibly removing three vehicles.
It was gathered that the naval officers, acting on the direct instruction of the sole administrator, carried out the operation in a commando-style raid, taking away two Toyota Hilux vehicles and one Toyota Hiace bus.
The action allegedly took place in the early hours of Friday, April 25, and has since sparked widespread condemnation across the state.
Reacting, however, the Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Rivers State Government, Hector Igbikiowubo, confirmed that only one Hilux bus was retrieved for operational purposes because the current administration does not have enough vehicles.
But sources close to the government described Igbikiowubo’s claim as false, maintaining that three vehicles were forcibly removed from the deputy governor’s residence.
Speaking, spokesperson of Democracy Watch Nigeria, Vincent Chimene Wopara, said the development marks a new low in the ongoing disregard for due process and democratic norms under the current administration.
He said the action is a targeted provocation, intended to intimidate and humiliate the office of the Deputy Governor, which remains a constitutionally recognised institution.
He called on Nigerians, civil society organizations, and the international community to take note of the growing trend of militarization and impunity in Rivers State, saying, “It is imperative that those in positions of authority act within the bounds of the law and uphold the dignity of democratic institutions.
“The people of Rivers State deserve governance rooted in law, not in brute force,” he stated.
In a similar development, pensioners and workers in the state have decried the non-release of the monthly approved N2b payments for gratuity and the stoppage of palliative vehicles put in place by Fubara to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
The Secretary of Pensioners Union in Rivers state, Joseph Agbo, alleged that the N2b released monthly for gratuity payments by Fubara has been stopped since the Sole Administrator resumed office.
He lamented that the development has affected the pensioners, causing them pain. He disclosed that some have fallen sick while others are feared dead.
Also, civil servants in the state have raised concerns about the stoppage of the palliative buses donated by Fubara to alleviate the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
The workers lamented that the withdrawal of the palliative buses has increased their pain, suffering amidst the economic woes, and they called for the return of Governor Fubara.
“We really need the governor back,” said the workers.
But the Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Rivers state government, Igbikiowubo, said it is incorrect for pensioners in the state to say that the N2b meant for the payment of outstanding pensions has been stopped.
Igbikiowubo said the sum of N2.9b has already been approved for the payment of outstanding pensions.
He added that gratuity, which is the only remaining outstanding payment, will soon be paid.
He also explained that the subsidy palliative bus, which had been stopped since the appointment of the sole administrator, will resume as soon as possible.
He said the administration deserves commendation for ensuring transparency in the system.
He said, “The Rivers state government under Ibas has paid outstanding pensions. The last time I checked, he had approved the pension payment of N2.9b. The only thing I know this government has held onto is gratuity, just to be sure the money was not paid to the wrong people.
“The administrator has fair intentions, so we just have to be patient. The administration will be accountable for anything it does to the last penny it spends for the benefit and betterment of Rivers’ people.”