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.
No fewer than 50 members of the 10th House of Representatives are unlikely to be part of the 11th Assembly after losing out in the All Progressive Congress (APC) primaries held on Saturday.
This marks one of the largest turnovers of sitting federal lawmakers since 2015 and signals intensifying internal competition within the ruling party eight months to the 2027 general elections.
While House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas (Kano) and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu (Abia) successfully defended their tickets, several ranking and long-serving lawmakers were defeated, exposing strong anti-incumbent sentiment and the decisive role of state governors in candidate selection.
Major casualties
One of the biggest upsets was the defeat of House Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere in Edo State’s Owan Federal Constituency. He polled 1,005 votes out of 7,587 cast, finishing third behind Andrew Ijegbia, who scored 3,695 votes. Abdul Oroh placed second with 1,740 votes.
In Delta State, veteran lawmaker Nicholas Mutu, who has represented Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency since 1999, lost his re-election bid. Ngozi Okolie also lost the Aniocha/Oshimili ticket to former House Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu.
Cross River State recorded one of the highest casualty rates, with five of eight incumbents failing to secure re-nomination.
They include three-term member Mike Etaba (Obubra/Etung), Godwin Offiono (Ogoja/Yala), Emil Inyang (Akamkpa/Biase), and Bassey Akiba (Odukpani/Calabar Municipality).
Only Peter Akpanke, Joseph Bassey, and Victor Abang won return tickets.
In Plateau State, conflicting results in Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency triggered early confusion. One returning officer declared challenger John Tongshinen winner with 29,968 votes against incumbent Yusuf Gagdi’s 5,849.
The APC Plateau State primaries committee, chaired by Stella Okotete, later dismissed that declaration as unauthorised and affirmed Mr Gagdi as the authentic winner with 29,207 votes.
At a press briefing, Mrs Okotete stated that Nandom Kura was the recognised returning officer. “The returning officer approved by my committee that has gone to do fake declaration is null and void,” she said.
Other significant losses occurred in Ogun State (at least five incumbents, including Deputy Chief Whip Ibrahim Isiaka and Tunji Akinosi) and Ekiti State (three sitting members).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has scheduled to screen former president Goodluck Jonathan tomorrow, Tuesday, aMay 19, as the lone presidential candidate of party.
According to a statement from the PDP faction backed by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, former governor of Plateau State, Jona Jang and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom Ikimi have been listed among a committee of 14 members to screen Jonathan described as a lone candidate by the party.
Other members of the committee were Chief Olabode George, Babangida Aliyu, Maryam ciroma, Zainab Maina, Josephine Anenin, Dr. Abdul Bulama, Dr. Esther Uduehi, Edo State PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, Dr. Sunday Solarium and Chief Anicho Okoro, who would serve as administrative secretary of the committee.
Last week, the national Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ini Ememobong, disclosed that former president Jonathan has successfully registered as a member of the party in the fresh digital registration exercise directed by INEC.
The PDP faction also announced that it was set to screen 748 house of representatives aspirants, 198 senatorial aspirants, and 112 governorship aspirants.
The screening committee would screen 2122 states houses of assembly aspirants. The exercise will commence tomorrow, Tuesday in different states.
According to the statement, the screening exercise would take place nationwide on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
The statement said the Interim National Working Committee (iNWC) has also released the names of members to serve on the Screening Committees and Screening Appeal Panels.
It added that the publication of the screening details “is in accordance with the party’s guidelines and timetable for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.”
A former governor and incumbent Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, along with his counterpart Senator Joe Ikpea, sailed through the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary in Edo unopposed, and securing their tickets without a single vote cast against them.
Also Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama emerged the winner in the APC primary for the Edo South senatorial district.
Ogbeide-Ihama won in the seven local government areas of Edo South in the results announced by the Chairman of APC National Assembly Primary Election, Muhammed Ajana at the Urokpota Hall, Benin.
He polled 27,154 votes while his opponents, Senator Neda Imasuen, got 13,580, and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu got 6785.
The elections were hitch-free in Edo North and Edo Central, where there was no contest against the incumbents, Senators Oshiomhole of Edo North and Ikpea of Edo Central, respectively.
Ajana at the Urokpota Hall said the collation arose from votes cast in the seven local government areas made up of 77 wards where elections were conducted by members of the committee.
He said, “There are seven local governments that make up the Edo South Senatorial District. We have heard from the Returning officers from the seven local government areas. From the collation, the cumulative result we have for Edo South Senatorial District is this; Ogbeide-Ihama with 27,154 votes, Imasuen with 13,580 votes and Ize-Iyamu with 6, 785.
“This is the total reflection of what has transpired from the ward level to the local government and the Edo South senatorial district collation centre. With this we await further directives from the National Secretariat, we have done our best by collating the results which is our mandate, to collate the results and send them to the National Secretariat.”
However, it was gathered that Ize-Iyamu emerged as the APC candidate for Edo South Senatorial race. He claimed to have clinched the party’s ticket after defeating Ogbeide-Ihama and Imasuen.
It was claimed that the Chief Returning Officer, Abubakar Muhammad Kabiru, officially declared Ize-Iyamu the winner after securing the highest number of votes cast.
On his part, the senator representing the district condemned the exercise describing it as a sham allegedly designed to favour a preferred aspirant.
Imasuen spoke while reacting to events at his polling unit in Umagbae North Ward 5, Urhokuosa where he said he was denied the opportunity to vote following what he described as a chaotic and manipulated process.
The lawmaker accused leaders of the party of openly adopting a preferred candidate ahead of the exercise and intimidating members into supporting that aspirant.
He said, “There is nothing satisfactory about this sham of election they did today and it is very unfortunate because as a loyal party member, I expected something better than this.”
He said the warning signs emerged days before the primary when some ward chairmen allegedly informed him that they had been directed not to receive him during consultations.
Imasuen claimed that some ward leaders openly told him the party had already adopted a preferred aspirant, identified as Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, making further consultations unnecessary.
2027: More Than 50 Lawmakers Lose APC Reps Tickets in Major Primary Election
Bandits behind Ogbomoso school abduction will face full wrath of the law- President Tinubu
PDP to screen Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday as its sole Presidential aspirant For 2027 race
-
Business2 years ago
US court acquits Air Peace boss, slams Mayfield $4000 fine
-
Trending2 years agoNYA demands release of ‘abducted’ Imo chairman, preaches good governance
-
Politics2 years agoMexico’s new president causes concern just weeks before the US elections
-
Politics2 years agoPutin invites 20 world leaders
-
Politics2 years agoRussia bans imports of agro-products from Kazakhstan after refusal to join BRICS
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Bobrisky falls ill in police custody, rushed to hospital
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Bobrisky transferred from Immigration to FCID, spends night behind bars
-
Education2 years ago
GOVERNOR FUBARA APPOINTS COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR KEN SARO-WIWA POLYTECHNIC BORI