Politics
TIMELINE of Wike-Fubara fight, Rivers political crisis since 2023
The crisis within Rivers State traced back to October 2023 following the political fallout between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, now FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Wike and Fubara have been locked in a protracted fight over the control of the political structures in Rivers State.
On 7th October 2024, three local government secretariats were set ablaze in Rivers.
In December 2023, the 27 lawmakers “defected” from the PDP to the APC, triggering a constitutional debate.
In response, the Rivers State High Court declared the seats of the defecting lawmakers vacant. The decision was challenged, leading to a series of legal battles.
Here is a timeline of the Rivers political crisis:
29 October 2023 – A section of the State House of Assembly Complex went into flames after suspected arsonists bombed it. This was on the eve of the impeachment attempt on Governor Fubara.
30 October 2023 – Some lawmakers, backed by Wike, initiatedimpeachment proceedings against Fubara
31 October 2023 – President Bola Tinubu mediated in the political rift between Fubara and Wike at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The mediation failed after a short while.
11 December 2023 – The 27 pro-Wike lawmakers announced their defection from the PDP to APC, citing divisions within the PDP.
12 December 2023 – A State High Court in Port Harcourt, via an order, cleared the way for Governor Fubara-backed four-member Assembly to hold legislative business without interference by the Amaewhule-led faction.
13 December 2023 – Edison Ehie, the speaker of the four-member faction, declared vacant the seats of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers who defected to the APC, setting the tone for another phase of the political fight.
Fubara presented the N800 billion 2024 budget to the four-member assembly.
14 December 2023 – Fubara signed the N800 billion 2024 appropriation bill into law. The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Zacchaeus Adangor, resigned, citing “personal principles.”
15 December 2023 – More Wike’s loyalists resigned as commissioners, increasing the tally to nine.
18 December 2023 –Fubara and Wikesigned a peace deal at a meeting convened by President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
20 December 2023 – The lawmakers withdrew theimpeachment notice against Governor Fubara.
31 December 2023 – Ehie, the factional speaker, who led a four-member Fubara-backed assembly, resigned.
4 January 2024 –Ehie withdrew a contempt suit against pro-Wike lawmakers, suggesting the political crisis in the state was approaching an end.
17 January 2024 – Rivers Assembly reconfirmed the nine pro-Wike commissioners who resigned from the cabinet in December
22 January 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abujaset aside the state’s N800 billion budget signed into law in December 2023 by Governor Fubara.
26 January 2024 – The Rivers Assembly stripped Governor Fubara of the power to appoint caretaker committees for local government councils after the assembly rejected the governor’s veto against its legislation.
24 April 2024 – Governor Fubara reshuffled cabinet, and redeployedthree Wike-backed commissioners. The commissioners rejected their redeployment and resignedhours later.
6 May 2024 – Governor Fubara declared that Rivers had no House of Assembly.
8 May 2024 – Victor Oko-Jumbo, a lawmaker from Bonny Constituency, emerged as the speaker of a three-member Rivers Assembly, creating more confusion and deepening the political crisis in the state.
10 May 2024 – Fubara relocated the legislative business of the Assembly to the Government House in Port Harcourt. A State High Court in Port Harcourt barred Wike’s allies from parading themselves as lawmakers.
13 May 2024—Governor Fubaravowed to probe the administration of his predecessor, Wike
15 May 2024 – Five more commissioners resigned, citing various reasons.
21 May 2024 – A State High Court in Port Harcourt nullified the amended Rivers local government law, which granted tenure extension for the local government council officials in the state
7 June 2024 – Rivers State Government approved N19.6 billion for the reconstruction of the Rivers House of Assembly Complex, six months after it was demolished.
18 June 2024 – Fubara, in a statewide broadcast, directed outgoing council officials to vacate office immediately following the expiration of their tenure.
19 June 2024: Governor Fubara inaugurated the chairpersons of the caretaker committees for the 23 local government areas in the state.
25 June 2024 –Dynamite exploded near Hotel Presidential along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, during a protest in solidarity with Wike.
4 July 2024—The Appeal Court in Abuja reinstated the pro-Wike lawmakers. The appellate court said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to grant the ex parte order it issued.
9 July 2024 – Pro-Wike lawmakers gave Governor Fubara a seven-day ultimatum to re-present the 2024 budget to them for consideration, their first legislative action after reinstatement.
21 July 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abuja declined pro-Wike lawmakers’ prayer to stop Governor Fubara from spending state funds.
13 August 2024 – Wikevowed never to support Fubara again in his political life, saying his successor was “ungrateful”.
25 August 2024 – APP in Rivers State asked Governor Fubara to seek re-election in 2027 under the party platform, claiming that the PDP had lost relevance in the state.
4 September 2024 – Justice I.P.C Igwe of a State High in Rivers orders Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to conduct local elections in the state, using the 2023 voters register.
20 September 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit seeking to sack pro-Wike lawmakers.
21 September 2024 – Governor Fubara’s allies picked APP forms for local elections, following PDP’s boycott of the exercise.
30 September 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abuja barred INEC from releasing voters’ register to RSIEC for local elections and further barred the police from providing security for the exercise.
4 October 2024 – Governor Fubara visited the RSIEC office and allegedly foiled an attempt by the police to “cart away” materials meant for the local elections. Police barred operatives from providing security for the election.
5 October 2024 – Fubara conducted local elections in the state where chairmanship candidates of APP won in 22 local councils in Rivers while Action Alliance won in one.
6 October 2024 – Fubara inaugurated chairpersons at Government House.
7 October 2024 – Police unsealed local government secretariats after four months.
8 October 2024 – Governor Fubara constituted a seven-man judicial panel of enquiry to investigate the cause of post-election violence and make recommendations for the state government.
10 October 2024 – The Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the nullification of Rivers 2024 budget. The appellate court affirmed pro-Wike lawmakers as the legitimate legislative authority in the state.
Governor Fubara filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, insisting the seats of the defected lawmakers remain vacant.
February 2025 – The Supreme Court restored Amaewhule’s position as the speaker, reinstated the others as legitimate members of the assembly, and nullified the local election organised by Fubara’s administration.
The lawmakers subsequently gave the governor 48 hours to re-present the budget.
The Governor had vowed to implement the order of the Supreme Court despite disagreeing with the verdict.
His efforts to re-present the budget were unsuccessful as the lawmakers denied him access to the assembly quarters last Wednesday.
On Monday, the battle took a new twist when 26 lawmakers served a notice of alleged misconduct against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.
The notice of misconduct against the duo marks a resumption of the impeachment plot against them.
Former lawmaker, Dino Melaye Esq, has raised concerns over the Senate’s reported rejection of the electronic transmission of election results.
The move, according to Melaye, is a clear endorsement of election rigging and an indication of a sinister plan to rig the 2027 elections.
In a statement on Friday, the former lawmaker criticized the Senate’s decision, stating that it undermines the credibility of the electoral process.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC chieftain, also stated that the move opens the door for electoral manipulation and fraud.
He further warned that the rejection of electronic transmission of results is a step backwards for democracy in Nigeria.
Melaye called on lawmakers and citizens to stand up against “this blatant attempt to undermine the will of the people and ensure that future elections are free, fair, and transparent”.
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has said Nigerians have every reason to be mad at the Senate over the ongoing debate on e-transmission of election results.
Ezekwesili made this known on Friday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’ monitored by DAILY POST.
DAILY POST reports that the Senate on Wednesday turned down a proposed change to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the Electoral Amendment Bill that aimed to compel the electronic transmission of election results.
Reacting to the matter, Ezekwesili said, “The fundamental issue with the review of the Electoral Act is that the Senate retained the INEC 2022 Act, Section 60 Sub 5.
“This section became infamous for the loophole it provided INEC, causing Nigerians to lose trust. Since the law established that it wasn’t mandatory for INEC to transmit electoral results in real-time, there wasn’t much anyone could say.
“Citizens embraced the opportunity to reform the INEC Act, aiming to address ambiguity and discretionary opportunities for INEC. Yet, the Senate handled it with a “let sleeping dogs lie” approach. The citizens have every reason to be as outraged as they currently are.”
Politics
Electoral act: Senate’s action confirms Nigeria ‘fantastically corrupt’, ‘disgraced’ – Peter Obi
Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the Senate’s refusal to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory, saying the move further exposes Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt and disgraced country.
Obi expressed his views in a statement shared on X on Friday, where he accused lawmakers of deliberately weakening Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He explained that his reaction came after a brief pause to mourn victims of a deadly tragedy in Kwara State, where over 150 people reportedly lost their lives.
“Let us first pray for the souls of the innocent Nigerians lost in Kwara. That painful incident is why I delayed responding to the shameful development surrounding our electoral system,” he wrote.
Describing the Senate’s decision as intentional and dangerous, Obi said rejecting mandatory electronic transmission was not a simple oversight but a calculated attempt to block transparency.
“The Senate’s open rejection of electronic transmission of results is an unforgivable act of electoral manipulation ahead of 2027,” he said.
According to him, the action strikes at the heart of democracy and raises serious questions about the true purpose of governance in Nigeria.
“This failure to pass a clear safeguard is a direct attack on our democracy. By refusing these transparency measures, the foundation of credible elections is being destroyed. One must ask whether government exists to ensure justice and order or to deliberately create chaos for the benefit of a few.”
The former Anambra State governor linked the post-election controversies of the 2023 general elections to the failure to fully deploy electronic transmission of results, insisting that Nigerians were misled with claims of technical failures.
“
The confusion, disputes and manipulation that followed the 2023 elections were largely due to the refusal to fully implement electronic transmission,” he said.
He added that the so-called system glitch never truly existed.
Obi compared Nigeria’s electoral process with those of other African countries that have embraced technology to improve credibility, lamenting that Nigeria continues to fall behind.
“Many African nations now use electronic transmission to strengthen their democracy. Yet Nigeria, which calls itself the giant of Africa, is moving backwards and dragging the continent along.”
He criticised Nigeria’s leadership class, saying the country’s problems persist not because of a lack of ideas but because of deliberate resistance to meaningful reform.
“We keep organising conferences and writing policy papers about Nigeria’s challenges. But the truth is that the leaders and elite are the real problem. Our refusal to change is pushing the nation backwards into a primitive system of governance.”
Warning of the dangers ahead, Obi said rejecting electronic transmission creates room for confusion and disorder that only serves the interests of a small group.
He also recalled past remarks by foreign leaders who described Nigeria as corrupt, arguing that actions like this continue to justify those statements.
“When a former UK Prime Minister described Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt,’ we were offended. When former US President Donald Trump called us a ‘disgraced nation,’ we were angry. But our continued resistance to transparency keeps proving them right.”
Obi warned that Nigerians should not accept a repeat of the electoral irregularities witnessed in 2023.
“Let there be no mistake. The criminality seen in 2023 must not be tolerated in 2027.”
He urged citizens to be ready to defend democracy through lawful and decisive means, while also calling on the international community to closely monitor developments in Nigeria’s electoral process.
“The international community must pay attention to the groundwork being laid for future electoral manipulation, which threatens our democracy and development,” Obi stated.
He concluded by expressing hope that change is still possible if Nigerians take collective responsibility.
“A new Nigeria is possible but only if we all rise and fight for it.”
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