Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has defended Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s absence from the Government House on Thursday, after expiration of the State of Emergency imposed on the State, saying governance was not confined to physical presence in office.
“See, there is no law that says Fubara must resume today. He is a governor. I don’t understand the way we operate. I was sworn in today, for example, it does not mean I will go to work tomorrow. You don’t know what my programmes are, you don’t know what the governor has scheduled to do, you don’t know where he is,” Wike said during an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ on Thursday night.
“Governance does not mean you must be in the office governing, no, it is not true. Do you know whether he is in Abuja doing one thing or the other?” he added.
Wike disclosed that he recently spoke with Fubara and confirmed the governor’s movements. “I spoke with Fubara on Wednesday. I told him I was leaving for Abuja last night and he told me he was going back (to Rivers) today, Thursday,” he said.
When pressed on whether he had forgiven Fubara after months of political tension, Wike replied: “I don’t talk to someone who I have not forgiven.”
LEADERSHIP reports that Rivers State has been under the spotlight since March when the rift between Wike and his successor spiralled into violent protests, legislative crises, and widespread instability. The chaos forced President Bola Tinubu to declare emergency rule, appointing Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as Sole Administrator to restore law and order for six months.
For six months, Ibas oversaw governance, security operations, and mediation efforts to stabilise the state. On Thursday, Ibas formally handed over power back to Governor Fubara, declaring that “law and order had been restored.”
Recall that hundreds of supporters who had gathered at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday, to welcome Governor Fubara went home disappointed because of the governor’s absence.
Many of them, who arrived as early as 6 a.m. from across the state, waited for hours expecting the governor to formally resume office following the handover of power to him. By noon, when it became clear he would not appear, supporters began to disperse in frustration.
