Rivers Crisis: Akpabio Pays Wike Visit At Home

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, paid a visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike shortly after the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State.

The visit which was announced on social media by the media aide, Lere Olayinka, took place at the residence of the FCT Minister

The unscheduled visit by Akpabio to Wike shortly after he left the security meeting with President Bola Tinubu, took place amid the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State for which a State of Emergency was declared by the President as a result of the tensions in Rivers State.

President Tinubu said that his declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State followed months of worsening political unrest and the inability of the state’s Governor to resolve ongoing disputes, including the suspension of legislative activities.

Tinubu also said that the crisis had escalated beyond control, with Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s administration indicted by the Supreme Court over constitutional violations.

In the words of Tinubu; “These included the illegal dissolution of the state legislature, which led to governance issues and widespread instability”.

Tinubu further said that despite multiple attempts to intervene, both internally and externally, including a Supreme Court ruling in February 2025, the situation remained unresolved, adding that the Supreme Court of Nigeria noted that Rivers State effectively had no functioning government due to Governor Fubara’s actions, which weakened the legislative arm.

The Supreme Court held that a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state.

The apex Court also held that the Governor’s actions had made the state’s leadership unconstitutional just as the Court declared that the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who were believed to have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were still legitimate members and should be allowed to resume their legislative duties.