The Rivers State Governorship Deal -By IfeanyiChukwu Afuba

More than twelve weeks after the filing of constitutional suit at the Supreme Court challenging the legality of State of Emergency and appointment of a Sole Administrator in Rivers State, Nigerians are still waiting for determination of the legal action. No date has been issued for commencement of this all – important suit, leaving Nigerians wondering and speculating on the seeming delay. Would this be a case of waiting for Godot? _Waiting For Godot_ is a play by Samuel Beckett which explores the state of indeterminate situation and the mind games uncertainty exacts on people. As with the two principal characters, Estragon and Vladimir, Nigerians looking forward to pronouncement on the federalism and democracy rights the suit seeks to uphold, find themselves reliving a drama of self doubt, grappling, as it were, with the sounds of consciousness and test of reality.

Before our very eyes, some of the Governors who enlisted as petitioners in this suit of immense national interest, have been defecting to the ruling APC, the party which argues that ousting and replacing an elected Governor with an appointed administrator is constitutional and healthy. Do they still stand by the application for invalidation of Rivers State governor – administratorship? If that was not enough puzzle, indications of a political bargain on the governorship standoff began to emerge in the last week of June 2025. Photos of the President, Bola Tinubu, elected Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, FCT Minister and much vaunted sponsor of Fubara’s election, Nyesom Wike, following a deal on the dispute, soon flooded the media. And with disturbing speculations on the agreement trailing the visuals. Among the perceived conditions is the decamping of Fubara from the PDP to the APC. Another leg of the deal is said to be a compromise by Wike’s successor to forgo the right of second term election. And yet another table – shaking detail is the concession of local government machinery to the Governor’s arch rival. News and political sources claiming access to the parley posit that nomination of candidates for appointive/elective local government positions have been reserved for the Rivers State godfather. At this stage, it should be said that while the fact of reconciliation has been established, the very content remains a matter of conjecture.

However, Fubara’s comment on the matter, while not providing specifics, offer of a very difficult package, one with a number of bitter pills to swallow. From Arise Television, 29 June, 2025, we have this slightly abridged account of Fubara’s update to his supporters. “We have fought. At this point, if you want to be truthful to yourself, the only solution is peace. I did say that no price is too big for peace. I meant it, and I’m still ready to follow it to the end. Nobody can take away the role the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike played; that’s the truth. Yes, we might have our differences, but nobody here will say he doesn’t know the role he played. Nobody can wish away the risk he took. Yes, at one point we had our differences, and if today there’s need for us to settle, please, anyone who genuinely believes in me should understand that it’s the right thing to do. If we believe that we are in one family and our interest is to support the President, then what is the issue? I can’t abandon you people, that’s one thing I need to say here. But the sacrifice that we are going to make for us to achieve this total peace is going to be heavy, and I want everybody to prepare for it.”

The picture emerging from the above is that of a deal with far – reaching implications for Fubara’s governorship. The embattled Governor confirmed the odds stacked against him in the agreement by the drift of his address. His remarks are an indirect admission of a costly compromise in return for regaining the Governor’s office. But it will be a diminished governorship, one limited by the strings of peace, political peace, by the way. The burden of a devalued governorship is one that Fubara from all intent, is bracing himself to assume. He believes he has fought a good fight in a series of tough battles and was realistic in negotiating an end to the conflict. In the event, the meeting with his supporters was not just to brief them but, more importantly, to psych them up for a whittled down governorship in exchange for vacation of state of emergency. The rhetorical question, “if we believe that we are in one family and our interest is to support the President, then what is the issue” says a lot. It all but confirms in words the party defection permutation. By context and spirit of discourse, the reference to family, political interest and then support for the President, can only mean a new political identity, a new political allegiance. If Mr Siminalayi Fubara goes ahead with the planned switch to the APC, he would be doing so with a diverted mandate. His election as Governor was tied to the environment of a PDP – run polity as well as social contract of PDP manifesto. Although the sanctity of a party – based mandate means nothing to Nigeria’s cross – carpeting politicians, it invokes legal, ethical and moral issues. And this may well provoke a fresh source of opposition against him.

The search for peace is a laudable one. Mr President, Fubara, Wike and all others involved in the efforts to resolve the Rivers State logjam are on the right path. But what makes the difference is the content of the peace agreement. The elected Governor has already alerted that the sacrifice to be made by his side will be “heavy.” When Fubara then declares that no price is too big to pay for peace, does it occur to him that the conflict transcends his circle of loyalists? The contention is one that directly affects the voter in Rivers State. Their electoral verdict was the institution of one Governor, not two Governors. A Governor’s oath of allegiance is not to any individual or group of persons but to Nigeria, State and electorate. And beyond the Rivers State electorate, every Nigerian has legitimate interest in the Rivers State faceoff because the issues are about constitutional provisions. How does the clause of state of emergency translate to power to remove an elected Governor and appoint an Administrator in his stead? Nigerians who cherish the principles of federalism and constitutional democracy are resolved to use all lawful means to prevent this from happening again. It’s a road that not only impoverishes our democracy but inferiorises a federating unit as well. In the circumstance, acceptance of a lop – sided agreement, especially one that demeans the office of Governor, will be received negatively by many Nigerians. While peace is desirable, a proposed path that alienates the mass of the people should at the very least, be viewed as problematic.

Power, position and the reins of office are all transient, here today, gone tomorrow. One moment, Elon Musk was about the most powerful man in the United States. The combination of his wealth and huge influence on the President had not been seen in a long time. But, next moment, this comfort zone with it’s aura of invincibility, came crashing down. Yes, he still runs a financial empire but even a lame threat of deportation against him drives home the message of everyman’s vulnerability. By December 13, 2024, Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s President, considered himself so powerful that he could get whatever he wanted done. And the following day he declared martial law. He failed to reckon with the will of the people. In less than thirty six hours, the authoritarian regime began to be rolled back. After two weeks of isolation – standoff in his residence, the supposed conqueror of South Korea took his room in jail. Ultimately, power belongs to God. It would be both an error and disservice to place the destiny of Rivers State at the pleasure of an individual or tiny minority. A peace deal governed by the mere clout of political office is misplaced and will be haunted by the ghost of illegitimacy. The path to holistic solutions is in tackling problems at their roots. Shortcut to issues that demand basic rights and due process rarely stand the test of time. At some point, the rule of might will fail. And when it does, the weight of justice and popular support ascend as bulwark against uncertain future.

Friday, July 4, 2025 ushered in cheering news amidst the depressing hollowness of Nigeria’s government and politics. The Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered the Senate to reinstate Senator Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan to the full rights of her legislative office. A friend with me when the report filtered in, broke into a dance. Concerned citizens have been celebrating the sanitising judgment. But it took a persevering Natasha to reach this bus stop. She would neither buckle under intimidation nor be distracted by campaign of calumny against her. She turned down invitations for superficial settlement, electing to endure hardship than to compromise principles. She did not just stand up for her right. Senator Uduaghan’s activism served the common good by indicting leadership arrogance of power, explaining the respect she commands across the public space. Fubara can also learn from the experience of Senator Chris Ngige as Governor of Anambra State. Ngige was rigged into office with an agenda of privatising government. Ngige would not play ball, shutting the treasury against the power speculators hovering around him. The backlash from the Presidency – protected cabal was fierce, throwing Ngige’s governorship into physical and emotional trauma. Ngige had a choice to accede to the demands of the cabal and have peace. But in upholding accountability and social welfare, he won the hearts of the people. He had become a folk hero. By stroke of Providence, Mr Peter Obi had just struck off his earlier plea for fresh election as second leg of his prayer before the Justice Nabaruma – led Election Petition Tribunal. Had the governorship poll been rerun at that time, Ngige would have won easily. His triumph at the Senatorial election five years later in Anambra Central Zone where the trio of Governor Peter Obi, APGA Chairman Victor Umeh and APGA candidate, Dora Akunyili, all hailed from, attests to the validity of this submission.

In the long run, the regard of the people and the verdict of history are far weightier than the gain of compromised authority.