At least, officially, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara is back; his Deputy, Mrs Ngozi Nma Odu as well as all members of the state House of Assembly are all back in the saddle by the power of the President, Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, who on Wednesday September 17, announced, in a statement, termination of the six-month-old state of emergency in the oil-rich state.
On March 18, the president decisively responded to the political impasse, a gathering storm that looked like only waiting for the zero hour to submerge the entire state and possibly beyond.
Amidst criticism in some quarters, Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as ammended) and suspended the warring Executive and Legislative arms of government, appointing a retired Naval officer, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, thereby rescuing the state from the jaw of the pervasive anarchy, during which the governor could not present any Appropriation Bill to the House to access funds to move the state forward.
Now, Tinubu has affirmed his satisfaction with the update in the state suggestive the readiness of the stakeholders to chart a new course in a new spirit, noting “This is undoubtedly a welcome development for me and a remarkable achievement for us. I therefore do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I had pronounced at the beginning of it.”
It was a carnival-like spectacle watching a crowd of people looking forward to welcoming the governor back to the Government House along Azikwe street in Port-Harcout, an indication that the six months absence didn’t go down well with the people, who stood by the governor during his trying time leading to the emergency rule.
Commissioners, sacked local government chairmen and supporters had all coverged to receive their principal back to his office. Live bands were spotted, singing and generally entertaining the cheering crowd who would later depart the scene at past 3 when there was no signal that the governor would turn up.
However, the governor wasn’t in their midst; he is yet to resume as expected for a reason, detail of which wasn’t available to our correspondent before filling this report.
A politics analyst, who closely monitored political events in the state, Emeka Mba, wrote: “You can take everything from a man, but if you have not taken the people, you have taken nothing . The people are the structure, and it is the people who make the man.”
Mba wished the governor to return with more sense of political maturity for the interest of the people who are ready to float or sink with him due to his welfare disposition before the impasse.
“Goodluck to all of us in Rivers who wish to see a prosperous state and an effective Governor. Let time be the judge from now on,” Mba noted.
Political future of Fubara in his return appears foggy as he has lost his grassroot base due to the local government elections conducted during the emergency rule and already installing the All Progressives Congress (APC) members as against the governor’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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