As Rivers State braces for the scheduled end of its six-month emergency rule, tension and expectation run high. Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who was suspended in March, is expected to be reinstated on September 18. Yet, many Rivers residents say their optimism is laced with skepticism. They want nothing more than what every democratic society promises — truth, equity, justice, and visible dividends of democracy — but after half a year of controversial administration, doubts persist about what will follow.
When President Bola Tinubu announced the suspension of Governor Fubara earlier this year, he also declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing political unrest and security concerns. Retired Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas was appointed as the sole administrator to run the state. That decision sparked intense debate, with opposition parties, legal experts, and civil society groups questioning whether the president had constitutional authority to suspend an elected governor and replace him with an unelected administrator. Despite a series of lawsuits filed from Port Harcourt courts to the Supreme Court in Abuja, the judiciary has yet to settle these constitutional questions.
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For many Rivers people, the past six months have been a painful period of political uncertainty and stalled development. Niger Delta activist and Rivers daughter Ann Kio-Briggs gave voice to that frustration in a hard-hitting analysis. “How should any people be governed? With truth, with equity, with justice. We should receive the dividends of democracy. We should have a judiciary we can trust and a government we can rely on,” she told Symfoni News. “These are not favors; they are entitlements.”
Instead, she argued, Rivers has endured governance that dismantled existing democratic structures. Key positions in the civil service, from commissioners to the secretary to the state government, were replaced with appointees loyal not to the suspended governor but to those who brought them in from Abuja. “Governor Fubara is coming back to work with people he did not appoint, people who have openly disrespected him and the office he occupies,” Kio-Briggs said. “That makes it nearly impossible for him to govern effectively.”
The suspension’s impact is visible across the state. From Port Harcourt to the airport corridors, residents complain of filth, stalled infrastructure projects, and crumbling public services. Major roadworks like the Trans-Calabar link road remain abandoned. Schools and hospitals struggle, while insecurity and economic hardship deepen. For ordinary citizens, the emergency rule has not translated into better living conditions. “We’ve not seen any improvements. The projects are stalled, the environment is a mess, and prices keep rising,” she lamented.
One of the most contentious issues remains financial accountability. Rivers receives billions in monthly allocations from federal oil revenues and other funds. Kio-Briggs alleged that during his six months in charge, Administrator Ibas collected and spent vast sums without transparency. “When he came in, Rivers State was not broke. There was money in the bank. He owes us an account — how much did he meet, how much did he collect monthly, and how did he spend it?” she demanded. “That money belongs to Rivers people, not Cross River, not Lagos, not Abuja. It is our money, and there is nothing to show for it.”
She also condemned what she described as a sham local government election conducted under Ibas on August 30. According to her, the polls were unconstitutional, rushed, and designed to impose loyalists into positions of power without proper consultation or transparency. While no one disputes that those declared winners are Rivers citizens, their manifestos remain unknown, and many have no history of working with Fubara. The result, she argued, is a state where the governor will be expected to work alongside a political structure deliberately set against him.
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Kio-Briggs warned that Governor Fubara’s reinstatement may be more symbolic than practical. Without control over his commissioners, the legislature, or the civil service, she fears his hands may remain tied. “Rivers is well and truly captured,” she said. “The governance is captured, the resources are captured. If the governor has no control over these, then how can he serve the people?”
This reality leaves many questioning whether the announced September 18 return will deliver meaningful change. “I find it hard to believe until I see the president himself announce the governor’s reinstatement,” Kio-Briggs added, dismissing reports by the Federal Capital Territory minister as “comical.” To her, it makes no sense that the same Abuja establishment accused of orchestrating the suspension is now tasked with announcing his return.
What is clear is that Rivers has suffered immense setbacks during the six-month emergency period. Economic hardship has worsened, essential services have declined, and trust in political institutions has eroded. Residents feel betrayed by a process that sidelined their electoral mandate and left their state under an administrator who, they argue, was unaccountable to them.
Yet, amid frustration, there is resilience. “Rivers people are peaceful and patient, but they are also determined. Just as we came out in October last year, when the time is right, we will come out again,” Kio-Briggs assured.
“The obligation of any governor cannot be to godfathers or grand godfathers,” Kio-Briggs concluded. “It must be to the people. Rivers people have done nothing to deserve what has been done to them. It is wicked, it is evil, and it must stop.”
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