The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed optimism that the state of emergency in Rivers State will end on September 18, paving the way for the restoration of normal governance structures.
President Bola Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state earlier this year following a deep political crisis involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara, members of the House of Assembly, and Wike himself. As part of the intervention, Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the State Assembly for six months, while appointing Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as Sole Administrator.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday after casting his vote in the local government elections, Wike said the conditions were now ripe for lifting the emergency. According to him, the peaceful conduct of the polls signals stability at both state and grassroots levels.
“As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful, people are trooping out, and at the end of the day the election has been conducted successfully and peacefully,” Wike said.
He added, “By September 18, the state of emergency will expire and the state assembly will come back to their job and we will have a government at the grassroots level. The coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, being that the state government has its representative and the local government has its representatives, so we are good to go.”
With the expiration date approaching, attention now turns to how the political actors in Rivers State will navigate the post-emergency era and whether the fragile peace will hold.
