By Daniel Abia and Davies Iheamnachor
As tension continues to build in Rivers State, leaders in the state yesterday warned that obeying the Martins Awaewhule-led faction of the state House of Assembly’s ultimatum to present the state’s 2025 budget to them was out of the question, as it was a plot to entrap Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The Ijaw National Congress (INC), on its part, said any attempt to undermine Fubara would have dire consequences for national peace and economic stability, as it condemned the Supreme Court ruling on Rivers State, warning that it could lead to widespread instability in the oil-bearing Niger Delta region.
This came as the Rivers State government, following the voiding of the 2024 council elections in the state, concluded plans to conduct fresh council elections. The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has scheduled a meeting for today to unveil the timetable and guidelines for the elections.
Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that the state government is awaiting a certified true copy of Friday’s Supreme Court judgment to enable it to react to all the issues raised in the decision.
Also, the elected Local Government Chairmen in Rivers State, who were sacked from office in 2015, have vowed to take over the council administration in the 23 local government areas of the state soon.
Reacting to the Awaewhule-led state House of Assembly ultimatum, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said if Governor Fubara abides by the directive to present the 2025 Rivers State budget, he would fall into a trap set for his impeachment.
“To me, he should ignore this group of funny people whose aim and mission in this political game is very obvious and not worthy of any serious attention. They lack the power to order an elected governor around as if the governor is their mate.”
“Even if, after the Appeal Court determines whether these urchins should be accepted as lawmakers, having all the facts of their defections and the dire consequences, Fubara should avoid them like the leprous 27 funny group they are.
“Assuming that the governor decides to present the budget before them, he will do that at his own time and terms, and not by the directive of a group of people that lack such power.”
He said the Supreme Court’s “unholy judgment only succeeded in exposing the true enemies of Rivers State and her people, and this was the time the state could prove to the world that Rivers is not a conquered state that can easily be pocketed by an individual whose aim is solely to corner the Treasury.”
Also, the former Nigerian Ambassador to The Netherlands, Ambassador Oji Ngofa, said the issuance of the ultimatum was a clear indication that Amaewhule and the 26 lawmakers were not ready for peace in the state.
“The 48-hour ultimatum shows a motive that is not noble. It is combative. It is belligerent and it shows the disposition of the man, Amaewhule,” he said, adding, “We will defend the governor no matter what it takes to do so.”
The diplomat said that it makes no sense for the Assembly to issue the governor an ultimatum without first writing to inform him that they have resumed sitting.
“It is nonsense. Even if the budget were to be presented, is 48 hours enough to make proper adjustments, if necessary?”
When contacted, the national vice chairman of the APC, South-South zone, Chief Victor Giadom, declined comment on the matter but noted that “We are carefully watching the unfolding events in the state.”
On his part, the Publicity Secretary of APC in Rivers State, Chief Chibike Ikenga, reminded that the presentation of the budget was not the position of the Assembly but that of the Supreme Court.
He said: “Obeying the decision of the Supreme Court was the proper thing for the Governor to do.”
Considering the short time available for the presentation of the budget, Ikenga suggested that if the governor could not meet the deadline, he should “simply write to the Assembly to inform them that he needs more time.”
Ijaw Nation Warns Against Impeachment of Fubara
INC President, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, in a statement in Port Harcourt, declared that the judgment failed to acknowledge the historical and political sacrifices made by the Ijaw people in Rivers State’s governance.
Tracing the roots of political dynamics in the state, the INC emphasized that the Ijaw people have played a crucial role in shaping the state’s leadership for decades.
According to Okaba, “In 1999, an Ijaw leader, Chief Marshall Harry, was instrumental in securing the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for Dr. Peter Odili, despite a formidable challenge from Sergeant Awuse. Harry further ensured Odili’s victory against a Kalabari opponent, Chief Ebenezer Isokariari of the All Peoples Party (APP).
“In 2003, the INC recalled that when Marshall Harry backed Sergeant Awuse’s governorship ambition, it was not Awuse but Harry himself who was assassinated, marking a painful loss for the Ijaw people. By 2007, Ijaw leaders such as Soboma George and Farrah Dagogo played a decisive role in securing victory for Sir Celestine Omehia, while Prince Igodo, a Kalabari-Ijaw warlord, was killed during Omehia’s swearing-in to prevent security breaches.”
He went on to recall that “In 2011, when Rotimi Amaechi sought to nominate Pastor Tonye Cole as a minister, Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of then-President Goodluck Jonathan, ensured that Nyesom Wike took the slot instead.”
The INC lamented that despite these consistent sacrifices by the Ijaw people, an Ikwerre political elite now seeks to frustrate the first riverine governor in decades.
The body stated that the Ijaw people will defend Governor Fubara “with every pint of blood in their veins,” emphasizing that they would not stand by and allow their long-awaited tenure to be truncated.
Prof. Okaba also cautioned that while the INC has worked tirelessly to preserve peace in the Niger Delta, leading to increased oil production and revenue for the nation, regrettably, the same resources are now being used to marginalize the Ijaw people.
He specifically pointed out that this trend extends beyond Rivers State to Ondo, Edo, Delta, and Akwa Ibom, where Ijaws continue to face political exclusion.
Issuing a direct warning to President Bola Tinubu, the INC insisted that the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State must not be treated as ordinary politicking.
Prof. Okaba stressed, “If Governor Fubara’s tenure is truncated by the Amaewhule-led Assembly or anybody else, the INC cannot guarantee the sustenance of the current peace in the Niger Delta, nor the continued rise in oil production—a veiled warning of potential disruptions in the region’s petroleum industry.”
Rivers Concludes Plan to Conduct Fresh Council Polls
The commission, in a memo released yesterday in Port Harcourt byCommissioner of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, hinted that the state would quickly conduct another LGA poll.
Enebeli, in the memo, invited the stakeholders in the state for a meeting that would allow for the release of a timetable for the conduct of a fresh election.
The memo read: “The Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Enebeli, hereby invites leaders of all registered political parties, traditional rulers, security agencies, religious organizations, the media, professional organizations, civil society groups, non-governmental organizations, community-based groups, and the electorate:
“To a general stakeholders’ meeting on March 5, 2025, at the RSIEC Headquarters, Aba Road, Port Harcourt. The highlight of the meeting will be the unveiling of the timetable and guidelines for the 2025 local government elections in the state.”
Sacked, Restored Rivers LGA Chairmen Vow to Retake Council Secretariats
The chairmen of the 23 local government areas, their deputies, and councillors in Port Harcourt yesterday said that following an Appeal Court judgment which invalidated their sacking by the Nyesom Wike administration in 2015, they were the right people to take over the leadership of the LGAs in the state.
It should be recalled that RSIEC, on May 23, 2015, conducted a council election at the tail end of the Chibuike Amaechi administration.
But, Chief Wike, upon resumption of office, sacked all 23 council chairmen and councillors elected in the 2015 elections.
Consequently, a Federal High Court had, in its judgment on the matter, nullified the election on July 9, 2015.
However, 10 years later, on February 28, 2025, an Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt upturned the decision of the lower court which sacked the 23 LGA chairmen, ruling that the 2015 election was without encumbrances.
Speaking on behalf of the elected Chairmen, Mr. Benson Imie, who was elected Chairman of Andoni LGA, noted that when the Supreme Court, in its judgment on Friday, voided the council election conducted in the state in 2024, vacancies ensued in the LGAs of the state.
He said: “It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal has set aside the July 9, 2015, judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which nullified the council elections conducted by RSIEC on May 23, 2015.
“Delivering judgment on February 28, 2025, on the appeal filed by the chairmen of the 22 councils challenging the nullification of the 2015 council election in Appeal Number CA/PH/172/2024 (Augustine Ngo & 22 Ors v. PDP & Ors.), the Appeal Court nullified and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court on grounds of violent breach and flagrant abuse of the appellants’ right to fair hearing, jealously protected and preserved under Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), and a plethora of case laws, holding that the election of the appellants was without any l
egal encumbrances.”
Imie stated that following the Appeal and Supreme Court judgments, the right people to take over the council administration in the state are those who were elected in the 2015 election.
He said: “It must be recalled that, at the time of the judgment referred to above, there was no vacancy at the councils, and that constrained the Appeal Court from making consequential orders in relation thereto. On the other hand, on the same date of February 28, the Supreme Court, in one of the matters decided upon on the said date, sacked all the council chairmen elected on October 5, 2024, for contravening the extant provisions of RSIEC Laws, among others.
“In light of the foregoing, vacancies in various councils ensued. In view of the above, the rightful persons to occupy the vacant positions at the councils are the duly elected Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, and Councilors of 2015, having been judicially recognized by the Court of Appeal after a protracted legal battle.”
Also, Reginald Ukwoma, who was elected as Etche LGA Chairman, noted that the chairmen and their councillors do not need to be sworn in again, because they had taken the oath of office before they were removed from office in 2015.
Ukwoma said: “We don’t need swearing in again. We have been sworn into office, and we cannot take another oath of office. At the moment, we will wait to receive the Certified True Copies of the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court judgments, then we will know when to resume office.”
Vanguard
