The people of Rivers State appear to have mixed expectations as the six-month suspension imposed on Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly gradually comes to an end.
President Bola Tinubu suspended democratic institutions in the state on the evening of Tuesday, 18 March 2025, amid rising political tension stemming from a face-off between Fubara and his political godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Tinubu also appointed a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), as the state’s sole administrator, who subsequently suspended all political appointees of the embattled governor.
Before his suspension, Fubara’s administration had embarked on major people-oriented projects, including the Trans-Kalabari Link Road, the Port Harcourt Ring Road, the reconstruction of a section of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex that was razed on 30 October 2023, and plans to reinvigorate the Soghai Farm in Tai Local Government Area, among others.
However, following his removal from office, work at most of the project sites either slowed down or stopped entirely, without any official explanation, even though Ibas had given assurance that his administration was discussing with the contractors to resume work.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP about his expectations of Fubara upon his return to office, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Hon. Stephen Deegbara, said that the continuation of abandoned road projects, the promotion of civil servants, and the employment of teachers in primary and secondary schools should be top priorities.
The APC chieftain added that the governor should also focus on governance, mend broken relationships, unite the state, and align Rivers with the federal government.
“and not listen to those who are crisis entrepreneurs—those who benefited from the needless crisis.”
A Port Harcourt-based journalist, Olalekan Ige, spoke in a similar vein.
Ige said: “He should focus on completing several projects he awarded, especially roads – the Elele-Omoku Road, the Trans-Kalabari Road, etc. He needs to immediately look into the Ring Road project abandoned by Julius Berger and resolve all knotty issues.
“The employment issue is so important and needs to be tackled immediately. Many schools, health institutions, and ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are lacking personnel.
“Rehabilitation of primary and secondary schools across the LGAs; bursaries for Rivers State students in higher institutions. The state needs to urgently set up a State Emergency Management Agency to manage natural emergencies like floods, fires, etc.,” he said.
Governance Frozen for the Past Five Months
Also speaking with LEADERSHIP, another APC chieftain, Hon. Darlington Nwauju, urged Fubara to pick up from where he left off in 2023 when he assumed office as governor.
Nwauju said: “I am a bit at a loss for a response because, as a Rivers man, I have completely lost interest in governance issues here, given the fact that governance has been frozen in the past five months.
“And I think Governor Sim Fubara will have to start from where he met the state in 2023. A lot of policy somersaults have occurred, which I even believe are anti-Rivers people. The easiest thing to do in governance—pay salaries—has become herculean under the military administrator. I really do not know where to start because the state has had its development frozen in the last five months.”
Rivers Development Stagnated Under Emergency Rule
On his part, political analyst Dr Obinna Nwodim called on the governor not to allow the recent political crisis in the state to influence his approach to governance.
Nwodim said, “In all fairness, I wouldn’t say that the average Rivers man has seen any tangible result from the government. They truncated what was ongoing because of contracts awarded by the suspended governor. There is a big difference between what is happening now and what would have happened if the democratic structure had remained in place.
The political analyst expressed regret that development had been slow in the state during the period of emergency rule.
No expectation, Governor Fubara has been caged
However, public affairs analyst Obinwa Akanwa does not expect much from Fubara upon his return.
He said the governor had been boxed into a corner and, as such, less development should be expected.
