By Peter Omopo, Abuja | September 21, 2025
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former lawmaker from Ekiti State, Senator Ayodele Arise, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara and declare a state of emergency in Rivers State earlier this year.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Arise said critics of the President’s action were ignoring the fact that the intervention prevented Rivers from descending into chaos.
“By and large, we have to thank Mr President for taking the decision he took,” he said. “The situation in Rivers State at the time the emergency rule came to bear was almost getting out of hand. Instigating violence there would drive away the engineers working in the oil rigs and those living in the Port Harcourt area. If the place became ungovernable, the President would have failed in his responsibility if he didn’t act.”
The political crisis in Rivers erupted in March following a fallout between Governor Fubara and loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in the State House of Assembly. The feud triggered impeachment moves, legislative blockades, and violent clashes before President Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the Constitution to suspend the governor, his deputy, and state lawmakers.
Tinubu subsequently appointed former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.), as sole administrator. The emergency rule was lifted on September 17, after which Governor Fubara was reinstated and, in a statewide broadcast, described the reconciliation as a turning point for stability.
Arise downplayed suggestions that Rivers voters would punish Tinubu in future elections for the emergency rule, insisting that the President remains politically secure in the state.
“Why will Fubara not identify himself with him and say, this man, I am all for him? Even if he says he isn’t, Wike will still defeat him in an election,” Arise argued. “The APC won in almost all the local governments. Those who benefitted from jobs Wike facilitated in the FCT will want to protect their interests and will work for the President’s success.”
The former senator expressed confidence that Tinubu would secure a second term in 2027, predicting that Niger Delta governors, including Fubara, would eventually align with the President’s re-election bid.
