Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to lift the six-month emergency rule in Rivers State was made in the overall interest of the state.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday night, Wike explained that the Federal Government had options to extend the emergency rule but deliberately chose not to, in order to stabilize the state.
“I was watching on television today, there are people who are natural crisis builders, who think they can only benefit when there is a crisis,” Wike said.
He added: “If we didn’t want the state of emergency to be lifted, we would have done one or two things to make sure it continued. But we did it for the interest of the state.”
Background to the Crisis
The state of emergency was declared in March at the peak of the political conflict between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his estranged political mentor, Wike, who is also the immediate past governor of Rivers State.
Under the proclamation, President Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months, while appointing former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, as Sole Administrator. The move attracted widespread criticism across the country.
On Wednesday, however, the President ended the emergency rule, directing all elected officials to return to office. He said reports from Rivers indicated that there was no need for the measure to continue.