Uncertainty In Rivers Despite End Of Emergency Rule

The suspension of the six-month emergency rule in Rivers State has restored constitutional governance, but there still remains an atmosphere of political mistrust and lingering divisions among the major political actors more than one week after.
While declaring the end of the emergency rule, President Bola Tinubu said from the intelligence he had there was a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara had also assured that peace had returned and that all parties had agreed to work together in the interest of the state.
But events in the period following the suspension of the emergency rule have shown a frosty relationship between the Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the House of Assembly, indicating that the rivalries that fueled the crisis have not been fully resolved. And lack of a broad reconciliation framework could undermine efforts to rebuild trust among stakeholders.
Since resuming duties, Governor Fubara and members of the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly have not appeared together in public. Instead, the Assembly reconvened and immediately gave orders to the governor to submit the 2025 appropriation bill and a list of commissioner nominees, moves viewed as an early test of strength.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, an arrowhead in the political crisis, has also maintained his distance. Wike, once a key figure in Rivers delegations to the Presidency, was conspicuously absent when Governor Fubara led an Ogoni Consultation Committee to President Tinubu in Abuja last week. Speaker Amaewhule was seen in Uyo with Wike at a road project flag-off by the Akwa Ibom State Governor on the same day.
The crisis within the Assembly has apparently remained unresolved. The Victor Oko-Jumbo group, formerly aligned with Fubara, has yet to reconcile with the Amaewhule camp. Edison Ehie, a former factional Speaker and staunch ally of Fubara, has been retained as Chief of Staff, further fueling mistrust.
More than a week after the Assembly’s directives to the governor, he has not transmitted any list of nominees or budget proposals to the assembly. Instead, he has been seen in multiple meetings with President Tinubu in Abuja, meetings that no longer feature Wike, raising speculation about shifting allegiances at the highest level.
Wike himself has kept silent since a TV interview on the day the emergency was lifted, fueling further uncertainty. Observers are questioning whether the Presidency still fully backs the Wike camp or whether Tinubu is recalibrating his stance. Wike had not hidden his opposition to the state of emergency, stating that his wish was for Fubara to have been impeached.
Complicating matters, the Assembly has threatened to probe the six-month emergency administration, which spent over ₦245 billion in federal allocations and internally generated revenue. Former sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.), has dismissed the threat, insisting that only the Presidency can call him to account.
As one resident put it in Port Harcourt, “Emergency rule may be gone, but peace is not yet here.” Rivers Women United for Sim, a group of women who have stood with the governor since the crisis burst open on Thursday carried out a street demonstration to declare support for the governor despite an earlier appeal by the governor that his supporters should step down activities over the crisis.
“Ending emergency rule is one thing; building confidence in government is another,” said Dr. Sarah Green, a governance advocate in Port Harcourt. “The people want inclusion and transparency they can see and feel.”
Resumption of full democratic governance should encourage investment. But uncertainty over political stability may continue to discourage major commitments in the state’s economy, said Anthony Uko, a businessman in Port Harcourt.
For many ordinary Rivers people, the question remains whether the state can truly move from crisis to peace. The mood across the state suggests relief at the return of constitutional order but also deep skepticism about whether the old patterns of conflict and political dominance will simply return under a different guise.
Analysts say the political temperature in Rivers remains high despite the return of democratic governance. “There may not be open hostilities, but the war is far from over,” one Port Harcourt-based political observer remarked.
The Presidency’s role remains the wild card. In 2023, Tinubu saved Fubara from impeachment but forced him to accommodate Wike’s nominees. In 2025, he suspended the governor altogether, handing Wike’s allies the levers of power.
With Fubara being seen repeatedly in convivial meetings with Tinubu without Wike in sight, analysts say this signals a subtle shift in Abuja’s calculus.