Breaking: Wike Defends Fubara's Absence After Tinubu's Order
- FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has explained that there is no law that compelled Governor Siminalayi Fubara to resume immediately
- Wike made the comment while reacting to the controversies surrounding why the governor did not resume after President Bola Tinubu lifted the suspension on him
- President Tinubu on Wednesday suspended the state of emergency earlier declared in Rivers and ordered the governor to return to power
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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has posited that no law compelled Governor Siminalayi Fubara to resume immediately after the six-month suspension was lifted by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, September 17.
The state House of Assembly members, who were suspended along with Fubara and his deputy, resumed plenary on Thursday, September 18, but neither the governor nor his deputy was seen in public.
Source: Twitter
Wike reacts to Fubara's absence
Speaking on the development in Rivers, the former governor of the state, in an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, dismissed the concerns about the whereabouts of his successor.
He stressed that governance is not about being physically present at the office, and that Fubara has the right to determine how and when he will resume his official duties.
When did Tinubu declare state of emergency
President Bola Tinubu earlier lifted the state of emergency he declared in Rivers state on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. The president said his decision was due to the breakdown of law and order in the state.
Before the suspension of democratic rule in the state, there was a power tussle between the suspended Governor Fubara and his predecessor, now the Minister of the FCT, Wike, over the control of the political structure in the state.
Tinubu noted that the rift between the two political gladiators in the state has started leading to the vandalisation of national assets and, by extension, leading to economic sabotage in the state, which is the background reason for the emergency.
Rivers: Why Tinubu declared state of emergency
President Tinubu reiterated that there was a total paralysis of governance in the state, adding that the executive and the legislature were not working together, and Fubara could not present the appropriation bill to allow him to have access to funds to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
He cited one of the judgments of the Supreme Court, which noted that there was no government in Rivers State. He added that his move and that of other well-meaning Nigerians were aborted by the key players in the crisis.
Source: Twitter
The president, in his address, noted that his action was in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which empowered him to declare a state of emergency.
This is a subtle response to his critics who have claimed that the president only has the power to declare a state of emergency but does not have the power to suspend an elected officer, particularly a governor. However, no state of emergency would be effective when the elected officers are still in office.
Wike speaks on Sowore's criticism of Tinubu
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu, being attacked on social media, has gotten a reaction from the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Wike made the comment, adding that Nigeria has become a nation where anyone can refer to the president as a criminal and nothing would happen.
The minister's comment came days after 2023 AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore made a derogatory comment against the president.
Source: Legit.ng
