Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, has vowed that he will not yield to demands to hand over ₦700 billion, representing 35% of the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR), to anyone.
Fubara’s statement sparked a heated power struggle with the former Governor of the State and present minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The dispute has raised serious concerns about the welfare of the citizens of Rivers State with 4.4 million people living in multidimensional poverty.
The political war between Governor Fubara and his erstwhile godfather – Wike, escalated following the defection of Fubara to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a development that did not go down well with the FCT minister, thus embarked on tour of Local Government Areas to campaign against the sitting Governor.
Wike pointedly threatened to make Rivers State “ungovernable” if Fubara doesn’t comply with an agreement they reached and also vowed to “deal with” Fubara.
However, Governor Fubara fired back saying that he won’t neither be intimidated, harassed and or coerced into handing over his mandate and the welfare of the people, stressing that “Rivers State is not a playground”.
Fubara pointedly declared that he is determined and prepared to defend the state’s interests.
This was just as his supporters have equally vowed that they would mobilise and protests against Wike and his allies, saying; “Enough is Enough”.
Expectedly, the political crisis had paralysed governance, a development that prompted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025.
The imbroglio has highlighted serious concerns about godfatherism in Nigerian politics and its impact on governance as Wike has specifically accused Fubara of being an ungrateful person while Fubara insisted that Wike’s demands were choking and a deliberate attempt to cripple the State economically as well as undermine his authority as the Governor of the State.
