Residents of Rivers State are celebrating the return of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to office after a six-month suspension that left the state in what many describe as total standstill.
Fubara’s reinstatement follows President Bola Tinubu’s decision to lift the state of emergency declared in the oil-rich state in March 2025. During that period, Governor Fubara, his deputy, and members of the State House of Assembly were suspended from their official duties.
The political crisis that led to the emergency rule was rooted in prolonged tensions between Governor Fubara and key political figures in the state, sparking security concerns and administrative paralysis.
Speaking during an interview on Prime Time, a political programme aired on Arise Television on Thursday, National Coordinator of the South-South Elders Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbe, said Rivers people are overjoyed at the governor’s return.
“You can see Rivers State people are so excited to see their governor because since he left, everything came to a standstill,” Sara-Igbe said.
He noted that the governor had active infrastructure projects running across all 23 local government areas of the state before his suspension. According to him, these projects were halted for the entire six months Fubara was out of office.
“If we are talking of Mr Project, Sim Fubara is Mr Project,” Sara-Igbe said. “There is no local government in Rivers where the governor did not have at least one project. But all of them were abandoned during his absence. We don’t even know what the Sole Administrator, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, did with the state’s funds during this period.”
Sara-Igbe, a respected political voice in the Niger Delta, also questioned the transparency and effectiveness of the interim administration led by retired Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, who served as the Sole Administrator appointed by the Federal Government during the emergency rule.
Rivers State, a major contributor to Nigeria’s oil revenue, has long faced political tension, especially between rival political camps within the state. However, Governor Fubara, who assumed office in 2023, was known for pushing developmental projects across the state before the crisis erupted.
With his return to office, there is hope among residents and political observers that stalled projects will resume and normalcy will return to the state’s political and economic life.
The state government has yet to officially announce which of the suspended projects will resume first, but sources close to the administration say priority will be given to road construction, schools, and healthcare infrastructure.
Citizens across the state have taken to social media and the streets of Port Harcourt to welcome the governor’s return, expressing relief that governance in the state may finally return to normal.
Governor Fubara is expected to address the state in the coming days on the way forward.
