Forging Ahead After A Troubled Past

Rivers State has experienced a period of relative calm since September 18, when the state of emergency was lifted and both the governor and the House of Assembly were reinstated. While this development was reportedly the outcome of a negotiated truce among the contending factions in the state’s prolonged political crisis, the exact terms of that agreement remain undisclosed. Consequently, the people of Rivers State remain uncertain about what lies ahead.
During the emergency period, all boards and governing councils of government commissions and parastatals were dissolved, and individuals loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, were installed in their stead. Upon resuming office, Governor Siminalayi Fubara called for peace and reconciliation, urging everyone to accept the new reality for the sake of stability. In his words, “The costliest peace is cheaper than the cheapest war.”
The House of Assembly, which had initially taken a tough stance demanding the governor’s budget proposals and commissioner nominations, as well as a probe into the emergency administration has since gone quiet. More than a month later, none of those resolutions has been acted upon, signaling a possible shift toward reconciliation.
Governor Fubara has, however, begun addressing certain irregularities within the state bureaucracy, particularly in financial approvals and disbursements allegedly carried out with the complicity of some permanent secretaries. After inspecting several ongoing projects, he issued a stern directive to contractors handling the Woji–Aleto–Alesa road project to complete it within a month. He also commended the progress made on the Port Harcourt Ring Road project and revoked the ₦134 billion contract for the rehabilitation of the state secretariat complex. In addition, he dissolved the pension commission and the board of the Rivers State Microfinance Agency.
In recent weeks, there has been a visible easing of tensions between the governor and the leadership of the House of Assembly. Both were seen together at a public event a gesture that may signal a new phase of cooperation.
For the sake of the state and its people, the governor and the Assembly must now put the bitter past behind them and focus on rebuilding trust and governance. The interests of Rivers State should outweigh individual ambitions. Only through unity and purposeful leadership can the state truly move forward from its turbulent past.