Beyond Crying More Than the Bereaved: The Collapse of People’s Mandate In Rivers State and the Complicity of Sim Fubara

By Semiloore Akinsulure

The entire country was confronted with a strange news some months ago, that fiercely oozed out from the Aso Rock - The president seemed to have had enough of the power tussle between the governor of the state, Gov. Sim Fubara and his political godfather, who doubles as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The strained in the relationship between the duo definitely affected the political atmosphere of the state and terrorized the peace of the state. It was turning into a theatrical showdown with unpredictable episodes. It was a loggerhead that was threatening to hijack the governance of the state, and this became very apparent when the governor championed the exodus exits of those defected law makers in the state. All thanks to the Supreme Court who came as dues ex machina to rescue the lawmakers from being ostracized by the governor. The Apex Court did not fail to mention that the absence of those law makers constituted an attempt to run the state without a government, as a government can’t be in place without the three arms properly placed to function.

And there came the president of the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who claimed to have faltered in his attempt to bring reconciliation to the heated conflicts that beclouded the state. The president didn’t succeed, his Minister and former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike would not back down from his open agenda to have the governor impeached, the president was left with only one option and that was to invoke the provisions of Section 305(1) and (3)(c)(d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during a nationwide broadcast on the 18th of March, 2025. 

The said sections provide for the declaration of state of emergency and defined how and when same can be declared. There’s no denying as to the power of the president to declare a state of emergency, the combined reading of both section 45 and section 305 of the Constitution make it clear that the president can validly declare a state of emergency. This is not a subject of debate and does not form the substantive focus of my contention.

What has rightly offended the spirit of many democrats and lovers of rule of law in the country, is premised on the ground that the president lacks power to suspend an elected governor and lawmakers in the declaration of state of emergency. This decision of the president was later challenged in court by Eleven (11) PDP governors, who jointly instituted an action at the Supreme Court to resist what has been considered by many to be a rape on the Constitution of the country. 

One might be left to wonder why Sim Fubara whose state was captured and taken from him by the powers that be, would refuse to openly condemn his suspension and enthronement of a Sole Administrator, not even when it generated national debates as to the legality or otherwise of the state of emergency. He was instead relegated to a mere passenger and intimidated out of his own state by the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, who was appointed to take total control of the governance of the state. 

I listened to Prof. Wole Soyinka when he lamented the excessiveness of the powers of the president, and the failure of the affected governor not to personally institute any action in court for the sake of having a straightforward direction as to the provision of section 305 of the Constitution. I think the governor was faced between the devil and the deep blue sea, and he opted to salvage his own destiny and safety without pursuing the interest of the greater good.

He was later seen groveling to his oppressors, making efforts to reconcile with his political benefactor, and the president who was alleged to have saved him from being impeached. Maybe he shouldn’t have started the fight in the first place, after all, he was only agitating for his own political liberation and interest. I was no later surprised on getting to see him showering accolades on the president whose overreach efforts clearly betrayed the spirit of federalism. Even before the expiration of his exile from office, the Local Government election was conducted under the supervision of those I consider to be a total stranger to our law. Everything about the election was an open display of illegality. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the suspended governor coming out again to thank the president for spearheading an election on his behalf. It’s hard perusing the entire situation without seeing Sim Fubara as an enabler of illegality, whose actions clearly undermined due democratic process.

Semiloore Akinsulure, is a Writer and a Media Personality.