A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has stated that the suspended governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara acted like a student union president and not like a sitting governor.
Rivers has been embroiled in a political crisis since Fubara fell out with Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The rift led to a polarisation of the Rivers State House of Assembly, with the supreme court annulling the local government election conducted by the governor and ordering Fubara to present the 2025 budget to a faction of the legislature loyal to Wike.
On March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared emergency rule in the oil-rich state. The president also suspended the governor, his deputy and lawmakers of the Rivers House of Assembly “for an initial period of six months”.
The president premised his proclamation on “latest security reports” and “disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them”.
In his reaction, in a post made on Facebook, Igbokwe likened Fubara’s approach to the crisis as dishonourable.
He wrote, “In actions and deeds Fubara never spoke as a sitting Governor. He behaved and spoke like a Student Union President. Unfortunately none of his followers and advisors had the courage to address him on his uncountable scurrilous drivels. Too much mistakes.”
