Fubara Rivers State return set for Sept 18 as emergency rule ends. Citizens demand justice, project revival, and probe into Ibas-led administration
Fubara Rivers State return on September 18 is set to mark a dramatic political reset as the six-month emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu expires.
Also read: Rivers Crisis Eases Again as Fubara, Wike Reconcile After Tinubu’s Intervention
The suspended governor is expected to resume office, amid mounting public expectations and heated demands for justice, transparency, and a full probe of the past half-year.
This follows hints from FCT Minister Nyesom Wike that with the conclusion of the controversial August 30 local government elections, the stage is clear for Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu, and the 32-member House of Assembly to return.
Fubara becomes the third Nigerian governor since 1999 to be unseated under emergency rule, joining Joshua Dariye and Ayodele Fayose.
But like his predecessors, he is expected to reclaim his mandate.
While many welcome his return, the legacy of the sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd), has stirred fierce public criticism.
Civic groups accuse Ibas of exceeding his constitutional bounds by sacking and appointing boards and agencies without legislative backing.
More controversially, he approved massive spending—N24 billion on CCTV, N30 billion on gunboats, and N23 billion in contingencies—even as the state’s capital, Port Harcourt, slipped from “garden city” to “garbage city,” critics say.
The August 30 local government elections, which handed 20 chairmanship seats to APC and three to PDP, have been condemned as a “charade.”
Rights activist Dr. Jackson Omenazu labelled the exercise as “one of the darkest chapters in Rivers democratic history.”
Prominent figures, including Apostle Eugene Ogu, a former PFN and CAN leader, also decried Ibas’ administration as lacking any meaningful development.
“There is no single project going on in Rivers State,” he said.
Opunabo Inko-Tariah, ex-media aide to Wike, accused Ibas of overseeing billions in spending with nothing to show.
“Fubara’s projects were already at 80% completion. What did Ibas initiate?”
The Rivers Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), through its chairman Sunny Dada, has called on Fubara to immediately audit the Ibas administration.
“Rivers people deserve to know how their money was spent,” he declared.
The CLO also urged Fubara to discard Ibas’ N1.8 trillion budget, relaunch abandoned projects, and draft a fresh people-oriented budget through the reinstated House of Assembly.
While loyalists have high hopes for the Fubara Rivers State return, others are less optimistic. A growing number of political actors are now aligning with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by Rotimi Amaechi, signaling doubts about Fubara’s political future.
“There’s no clear direction,” said a civil society activist. “The governor has kept silent too long. We feel abandoned.”
Yet others see the return as a chance for democratic renewal.
“Fubara must now prove his return is not symbolic but transformative,” said Dr. Omenazu, who urged him to cancel the flawed LG elections and restore credibility to the democratic process.
Engineer Franklin Eyo, a political analyst, emphasized that the people crave genuine peace, not political theatrics.
The calm in Rivers today is fragile. What we need is development, security, and fairness.”
As September 18 approaches, all eyes are on whether Fubara will rise to the challenge.
Will his return restore hope and order—or deepen the divisions that emergency rule sought to heal?
Also read:Supporters Shocked as Fubara Embraces Peace with Wike
The Fubara Rivers State return is not just a political event—it may be a defining moment for the future of democratic governance in Nigeria’s oil-rich heartland.
