PORT HARCOURT — With just 13 days to the expiration of the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, expectations are high as suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly prepare to return to office.
Administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired Vice Admiral appointed to oversee the state, is rounding off his assignment and has assured residents there is no plan to extend the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu on March 18.
Speaking after the recently concluded local government elections, Ibas said the polls were a signal that Rivers was ready to resume full democratic rule. “Certainly, all indigenes of Rivers State want and deserve grassroots leadership they can call their own. That is what this process represents,” he said.
The administrator has sworn in elected council chairmen, inaugurated nine key boards, and embarked on the reconstruction of the State House of Assembly complex demolished during the height of the crisis between Fubara and lawmakers.
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and immediate past governor, Nyesom Wike, also expressed optimism, noting that the successful conduct of LG polls was “a step towards lifting the emergency rule.”
Political leaders across party lines have welcomed the anticipated return of Fubara. The state chapter of the APC, led by Chief Tony Okocha, pledged cooperation with the governor while maintaining its right to constructive criticism. PDP chieftain Chief Ogbonna Nwuke dismissed suggestions that Fubara would return powerless, stressing that the governor retains his full constitutional authority.
Grassroots groups, including Rivers Women Unite for SIM, have been vocal in their prayers and calls for the emergency to end, insisting that the people have endured enough.
The state of emergency, which followed a bitter feud between Fubara and Wike’s loyalists in the Assembly, saw President Tinubu intervene with a high-level peace meeting in Abuja. With peace gradually restored, Rivers residents now count down to September 18, when democratic governance is expected to resume in full.
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