“Let us not be deceived. This is a deliberate, coordinated, and well-funded assault on Governor Siminalayi Fubara.”
By Charles Jiduwah
By any stretch of democratic logic, what is happening in Rivers state today is nothing short of a full-blown constitutional crisis – and the National Assembly (NASS) is complicit. The Nigerian Constitution makes no provision for a sole administrator in any state.
Yet, here we are, witnessing a dangerous political experiment unfold in full view of the public, orchestrated under the guise of federal intervention and wrapped in silence by those who should be the loudest defenders of our democracy.
NASS is aiding and abetting illegality
The primary duty of the National Assembly is to uphold the rule of law and ensure that democratic principles are respected and enforced across all levels of governance. Instead, the NASS has chosen the coward’s route—silence and passive endorsement.
Their inaction amounts to aiding and abetting the illegalities currently destabilising Rivers state. By allowing an unelected figure to preside over state functions, they are enabling a slow and deliberate state capture.
Let us be clear: the so-called sole administrator currently acting as the de facto head of government in Rivers state has no constitutional legitimacy. None. His authority stems from neither election nor public mandate. Yet, he is exercising powers that belong solely to the legitimately elected Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
An administrator or a political hitman?
This administrator, whose appointment was dubious from the onset, has proceeded to dismantle existing government structures. Ministries are being reshuffled to serve political interests. Pro-Wike loyalists are being parachuted into strategic positions across the state bureaucracy. Their qualification? Allegiance—not to the people of Rivers, but to a political godfather.
Governor Fubara, duly elected by the people, is being openly undermined. His executive directives are ignored. State functions are hijacked. Civil servants are receiving conflicting instructions. The administrator acts as though he were the governor—without the burden of accountability or electoral consequence.
Most alarming is the administrator’s recent attempt to prepare a state budget. This is an outright violation. A state budget is a legal and policy document that requires input and approval from the elected executive and legislature. The administrator has neither the authority nor the moral standing to embark on such an exercise. It is not governance; it is an attempted political heist.
Lip service from the house of representatives
To compound the insult, the House of Representatives recently issued a limp “reminder” that the administrator has no power to make laws for the state. A reminder? In the face of constitutional desecration?
A reminder does not correct illegality. A reminder does not stop a hijack. A reminder is not justice. What is required is urgent and unequivocal legislative action. The National Assembly must call for an immediate end to this unlawful occupation of Rivers state’s executive arm and protect the mandate of Governor Fubara.
Suspended Lawmakers in lavish UK trips
Let us talk about the most recent insult to the people of Rivers state—the UK trip of the suspended members of the State House of Assembly. These lawmakers, whose suspension remains in effect, were reportedly flown abroad on public funds. Who approved this? Who paid for it? The same sole administrator who has no legal right to authorise such spending.
Why are suspended legislators being treated to luxury trips? Why are they being rewarded for fomenting crisis? This is not just impunity; it is a slap in the face of the electorate. And while they toast champagne in London, the real governor is being boxed into irrelevance by a coalition of political saboteurs operating with the quiet approval of Abuja.
Fubara is the target—Let’s stop pretending
Let us not be deceived. This is a deliberate, coordinated, and well-funded assault on Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Every decision, every appointment, every budgetary move being made under this administrator is designed to weaken and politically suffocate the elected governor.
The writing is on the wall. Fubara is the target.
This is the very threat Wike made publicly: that he would “set fire” to any state that defies him. That fire is here. It is burning through the constitution, consuming institutions, and threatening to reduce Rivers state to the personal fiefdom of a political warlord.
Where are the elders?
In the face of this democratic carnage, where are the elders of Rivers state? Where are the voices of wisdom? Where are the leaders of the south-south, the Niger Delta, and indeed the moral voices across Nigeria? Has fear silenced all?
This is not near normal. This is a democratic emergency.
We cannot normalise lawlessness
The continued presence of a sole administrator in Rivers state is not only unconstitutional; it is offensive to the very essence of democracy. Nigeria must not become a country where elections mean nothing, where mandates are hijacked by puppeteers behind the curtain.
The National Assembly must act—not tomorrow, not next week, but now. End this unlawful regime. Restore the authority of the elected governor. Dismantle the illegitimate structures. Send a message that Nigeria is not a banana republic where anything goes.
Anything less is complicity. And history has no mercy for enablers of injustice.
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This op-ed by Jiduwah, is written in defence of democracy, constitutional order, and the right of the people of Rivers State to be governed by those they elected—not political proxies handpicked by shadow rulers.
