A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, has said that Siminalayi Fubara, who was suspended as Governor of Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, will have ‘zero’ powers when his suspension is eventually lifted.

Cole, who spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, said Fubara would find himself in a difficult situation.

According to him, Fubara would not be able to make any decision as a governor without interference.

Cole, a 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), lamented that Rivers, a critical state in Nigeria, had a governor who would not be able to exercise his full authority as an elected leader.

“We cannot be in a situation where we have an elected governor of a state, like Rivers State, which is a very critical state not just for the people of Rivers but Nigeria as a whole, and what you then see is that you have an elected governor that has zero powers. I don’t think it portends well at all,” said Cole.

“It’s extremely difficult, and I think the governor will be finding himself in a very difficult situation. First of all, the way politics has played out in Nigeria, almost every situation is that a governor, in leaving office, looks for somebody who he believes can continue whatever agenda they had moving forward.

“But time and time again, we find out that where the new governor or whoever has come in as governor is left alone to run his administration, then things progress.

“However, when such doesn’t happen…almost always we have ended up in this whole godfather-godson fight, and it’s never been good for democracy.

“Everywhere that fight has occurred, the people have tended to suffer a lot more. My prayer is that as we come back, because we don’t know what we’re going to see starting from tomorrow, the one thing that we are sure about is that the governor is not in a position to make any decisions,” the politician added.

The APC chieftain, however, advised Fubara to find a way to reach an agreement with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to allow him [Fubara] to make certain decisions as an elected governor.

“What I would do if I were him would be to now sit down with the honourable minister and appeal for some leeway to allow certain decisions to be taken by me as governor, and others to be taken by him, whatever peace agreement they had.

“The truth is that we do not know the details of that peace agreement, so I cannot tell the extent or the limits of the powers that he has now.”

Emergency Rule

Amid the political crisis between Fubara and Martin Amaewhule leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, President Bola Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, imposed a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspended the governor and his deputy, as well as the House of Assembly members, for six months in the first instance.

Hinging his decision on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, Tinubu said he could not continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking any action.

The president immediately appointed and swore in a retired naval chief, Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (rtd), as the sole administration for the oil-rich Niger Delta state.

Fubara and Wike, his predecessor, had locked horns over the control of the political structure in the state.

But in June, the President met with met with Fubara, Wike, Amaewhule, and other members of the assembly, signally a reconcilliation among the key actors.

Fubara is expected to return to office on Thursday September 18, 2025, following the expiration of his six-month suspension. (Channels TV)

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