With no sign of an imminent ceasefire in the raging contest for supremacy between the two camps in the political crisis in Rivers State, GODWIN OKONKWO, in this report writes on the emerging domino effects on the psyche of the ordinary citizens in the oil-bearing state.
The current week began with an indication of the possibility that the rival camps in the Rivers State political imbroglio could be on the way to peaching a compromise. The assumption was predicated on the seeming olive branch waved by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to the 26 lawmakers in the state House of Assembly under the leadership of Honourable Martin Amaewhule. Fubara wrote to the Assembly inviting the members to a meeting on Monday this week at Government House. The letter, signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tammy Danagogo, and dated March 7, 2025, was addressed to Speaker Amaewhule and other members of the assembly. To inspire public confidence that the road for eventual peace had commenced, the letter was explicit on the agenda of the meeting to include some issues arising from the judgment of the Supreme Court on the crisis. The agenda comprised provision of a befitting space for the Assembly’s sittings; payment of all outstanding remuneration or allowances of the Assembly members; presentation of 2025 state Budget, and sundry matters, as well as any other matter(s), as might be deemed necessary in the bid to chart the way forward.
But the hope for the process of an amicable settlement of the protracted imbroglio was dashed as the Assembly expressed indignation over the mode of communication employed by the executive arm on the proposed meeting. So, it failed to hold and the grandstanding by both parties continued. By Monday, there was another twist in the theatrics over the soul of the state between the camps. A faction of the party led by Tony Okocha threatened that the governor should be ready for impeachment if he failed to resign regarding the recent Supreme Court judgment on the protracted political crisis in state. Okocha believed the governor had committed some infractions that constituted impeachable offences. He said the Olive brcah from the governor to Assembly was merely a Greek gift that should be ignored. Okocha said, “As a political party we are advising the governor to either resign or be impeached. Those are the only two options before him. Now we have reached the bus stop and this is our position. Let him resign or be impeached.”
Besides, the hide and seek over the struggle for the control of Rivers between Fubara and the lawmakers assumed another curious dimension, following an order by the Assembly for the dissolution of the state electoral body that organised last year’s local government election that was later voided by the Supreme Court judgment. Two commissioners of the body had resigned, but the Assembly demanded a sack of all the commissioners in the state cabinet, and political appointees made by the governor who were not screened by the Amaewhule-led legislature. In addition, the lawmakers issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the commissioners and appointees to appear before the House to explain why they had been spending funds without the approval of the assembly through the passage of an appropriation law. The order was issued during the House plenary. While issues raised by the order dominated the political space, the Assembly gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd) to appear before the assembly to answer questions relating to the running of their different offices. The speaker said Justice Enebeli would need to answer why he conducted the ill-fated October 5, 2024 LG election without the approval of the assembly “and why they (RSIEC) was allegedly still spending funds in the year 2025 without an appropriation law and planning to conduct another election without any budget. Amaewhula said: “By the resolution of this house, the clerk should include in the letter that if the chairman and commissioners failed to appear before this august Assembly the house will be left with no other option than to invoke the powers vested in us in section 129 of the 1999 constitution to issue a warrant of arrest to compel them to appear before this august assembly.”
Also perceived as a sign of no retreat and no surrender is the proposal the authorities to hold a fresh local government poll. With the dust over the October 2024 LG poll still reverberating, the electoral body spoke of its intention to hold a fresh local government election. The announcement became another storm in the teacup, as the RSIEC announced that the election into the 23 LGAs would hold on August 9, 2025. The chairman of the commission unveiled the plan at a stakeholders’ meeting at the commission’s head office in Port Harcourt. The August election, which was necessitated by the annulment of the October 5, election by the Supreme Court, created a vacuum at the local government level as the chairmen handed over to Heads of Local Government Administration (HLGA) in compliance with the order of Governor Fubara. Therefore, RSIEC scheduled a general stakeholders’ meeting to unveil the timetable and guidelines for the 2025 LG elections in the state. The key stakeholders expected at the meeting included leaders of registered political parties, traditional rulers, security agencies, religious organizations, media representatives, professional organizations, civil society groups and community-based groups.
Fubara speaks on CTC of Supreme Court judgment
The tension in Rivers attained feverish pitch by last weekend as the public awaited the implementation, especially by the governor of the Supreme Court judgment delivered on February 28, 2025. The major parts of the judgment, which has drawn the attention of many to the intractable political crisis in the state, are the recognition of the apex court of Amaewhula and his 26 colleagues as the authentic members of the state assembly and the order to Governor Fubara to present the 2025 budget of the state to the assembly for vetting. Others are the nullification of the 2024 local government elections in the state and the order to the CBN and the Accountant General to withhold the revenue allocation to the state until a constitutional local government administration is put in place. But by March 2, the governor in broadcast, only gave a nod to the effect that the sacked LG chairmen should hand over to HLGAs, promising that further action on the judgment would be implemented after March 7 when his legal team would have received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment and advised him according to their understanding of the demands of the judgment.
Since then tension has been mounting in the state as to what would be the eventual fate of the governor, given that substantial parts of the judgment are against him and the fact that his opponents are not giving him any breathing space to ensure that they capitalize on his infraction on any aspect of the judgment to impeach him. This was demonstrated by the 48-hour ultimatum immediately issued by the assembly on March 3 to the governor to appear before them and present the 2025 budget of the state, which was already being implemented after it was passed by Honourable Victor Oko-Jombo and his group of five legislators.
As the ultimatum on the governor expired last Wednesday and apparently in deference to the governor’s earlier explanation of waiting for the CTC of the judgment, the assembly on March 7, issued another 72-hour ultimatum to Fubara on the presentation of the budget to them.
Way forward
At the moment, there is uncertainty on the way forward over the crisis, with threats and counter-threats emanating from the entrenched interests. Signs of cracks in the ranks of some ethnic nationalities have emerged, exacerbating the crisis. The authorities have continued to assure members of the public on the safety of lives and property notwithstanding the threats by some groups to make the state ungovernable. However, other critical stakeholders in Rivers literally are perpetually having their hearts in their mouth and wished for a political solution to the conflict because the current tension and state of inertia is not doing any good to the oil-bearing state.
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