The political landscape of Rivers State remains the epicentre of Nigerian power struggles as the protracted feud between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, continues to escalate.
Centred on control of the state’s political structure and the legitimacy of the House of Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule, the crisis has triggered a series of unprecedented legal battles and administrative deadlocks.
The issues stemmed from a political rift between Governor Fubara and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike.
Although an unconfirmed report suggested that the problem started before Governor Fubara was “sworn in” in 2023, over appointments and party alliance.
This timeline tracks the critical milestones of the conflict, from the first signs of the rift to the current House of Assembly impeachment tension that will define the state’s democratic future ahead of the next election cycle.
What began as a seamless handback of power in the ‘Treasure Base of the Nation” has devolved into a scorched-earth political war that has pushed Rivers State to the edge of a constitutional precipice.
It is now a high-stakes battle for the very soul of the state, marked by bombed hallowed chambers, defecting lawmakers, and a bitter struggle for grassroots loyalty that has kept Nigeria’s oil hub in a state of perpetual tension since late 2023.
The Rivers State House of Assembly, on Thursday, presented notice of allegations of gross misconduct against the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
The move to impeach Governor Fubara took many Nigerians by surprise, particularly those who believed President Bola Tinubu’s intervention, marked by the previous declaration of a state of emergency, had permanently resolved the political tensions rocking the state.
In this report, TVC News is highlighting the series of incidents in Rivers since 2023.
Since it is now early 2026, the “incidents” span from the initial fallout in October 2023, through the 2024 legal battles, to the 2025 State of Emergency, and finally today’s fresh impeachment notice.
Former Head of the Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nwaeke, also accused suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of ordering the bombing of the state House of Assembly complex in 2023 to prevent his impeachment by lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Fubara has, however, denied the allegation, asking Nigerians to disregard it.
Nwaeke, who recently resigned as Head of Service, made this revelation during a news briefing on Friday.
He claimed to have witnessed a bag of money being handed over to a former leader of the Assembly, who later became Fubara’s Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, to attack the Assembly Complex along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
Nwaeke further accused Fubara of attempting to destroy the residential quarters of the House of Assembly members.
30 October 2023 – Some lawmakers, backed by Wike, initiated impeachment proceedings against Fubara.
31 October 2023 – President Bola Tinubu mediated in the political rift between Fubara and Wike at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The mediation failed after a short while.
11 December 2023 – The 27 pro-Wike lawmakers announced their defection from the PDP to the APC, citing divisions within the PDP.
12 December 2023 – A State High Court in Port Harcourt, via an order, cleared the way for Governor Fubara-backed four-member Assembly to hold legislative business without interference by the Amaewhule-led faction.
13 December 2023 – Edison Ehie, the speaker of the four-member faction, declared vacant the seats of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers who defected to the APC, setting the tone for another phase of the political fight.
Fubara presented the N800 billion 2024 budget to the four-member assembly.
14 December 2023 – Fubara signed the N800 billion 2024 appropriation bill into law. The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Zacchaeus Adangor, resigned, citing “personal principles.”
15 December 2023 – More Wike’s loyalists resigned as commissioners, increasing the tally to nine.
18 December 2023 –Fubara and Wikesigned a peace deal at a meeting convened by President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
20 December 2023 – The lawmakers withdrew theimpeachment notice against Governor Fubara.
31 December 2023 – Ehie, the factional speaker, who led a four-member Fubara-backed assembly, resigned.
4 January 2024 –Ehie withdrew a contempt suit against pro-Wike lawmakers, suggesting the political crisis in the state was approaching an end.
17 January 2024 – Rivers Assembly reconfirmed the nine pro-Wike commissioners who resigned from the cabinet in December
22 January 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abujaset aside the state’s N800 billion budget signed into law in December 2023 by Governor Fubara.
26 January 2024 – The Rivers Assembly stripped Governor Fubara of the power to appoint caretaker committees for local government councils after the assembly rejected the governor’s veto against its legislation.
24 April 2024 – Governor Fubara reshuffled the cabinet and redeployedthree Wike-backed commissioners. The commissioners rejected their redeployment and resignedhours later.
6 May 2024 – Governor Fubara declared that Rivers had no House of Assembly.
8 May 2024 – Victor Oko-Jumbo, a lawmaker from Bonny Constituency, emerged as the speaker of a three-member Rivers Assembly, creating more confusion and deepening the political crisis in the state.
10 May 2024 – Fubara relocated the legislative business of the Assembly to the Government House in Port Harcourt. A State High Court in Port Harcourt barred Wike’s allies from parading themselves as lawmakers.
13 May 2024—Governor Fubara vowed to probe the administration of his predecessor, Wike
15 May 2024 – Five more commissioners resigned, citing various reasons.
21 May 2024 – A State High Court in Port Harcourt nullified the amended Rivers local government law, which granted tenure extension for the local government council officials in the state.
7 June 2024 – Rivers State Government approved N19.6 billion for the reconstruction of the Rivers House of Assembly Complex, six months after it was demolished.
18 June 2024 – Fubara, in a statewide broadcast, directed outgoing council officials to vacate office immediately following the expiration of their tenure.
19 June 2024: Governor Fubara inaugurated the chairpersons of the caretaker committees for the 23 local government areas in the state.
25 June 2024 –Dynamite exploded near Hotel Presidential along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, during a protest in solidarity with Wike.
4 July 2024—The Appeal Court in Abuja reinstated the pro-Wike lawmakers. The appellate court said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to grant the ex parte order it issued.
9 July 2024 – Pro-Wike lawmakers gave Governor Fubara a seven-day ultimatum to re-present the 2024 budget to them for consideration, their first legislative action after reinstatement.
21 July 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abuja declined pro-Wike lawmakers’ prayer to stop Governor Fubara from spending state funds.
13 August 2024 – Wikevowed never to support Fubara again in his political life, saying his successor was “ungrateful”.
25 August 2024 – APP in Rivers State asked Governor Fubara to seek re-election in 2027 under the party platform, claiming that the PDP had lost relevance in the state.
4 September 2024 – Justice I.P.C Igwe of a State High Court in Rivers orders Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to conduct local elections in the state, using the 2023 voters register.
20 September 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit seeking to sack pro-Wike lawmakers.
21 September 2024 – Governor Fubara’s allies picked APP forms for local elections, following PDP’s boycott of the exercise.
30 September 2024 – A Federal High Court in Abuja barred INEC from releasing the voters’ register to RSIEC for local elections and further barred the police from providing security for the exercise.
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4 October 2024 – Governor Fubara visited the RSIEC office and allegedly foiled an attempt by the police to “cart away” materials meant for the local elections. Police barred operatives from providing security for the election.
5 October 2024 – Fubara conducted local elections in the state, where chairmanship candidates of APP won in 22 local councils in Rivers, while Action Alliance won in one.
6 October 2024 – Fubara inaugurated chairpersons at Government House.
7 October 2024 – Police unsealed local government secretariats after four months.
8 October 2024 – Governor Fubara constituted a seven-man judicial panel of enquiry to investigate the cause of post-election violence and make recommendations for the state government.
10 October 2024 – The Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the nullification of Rivers’ 2024 budget. The appellate court affirmed pro-Wike lawmakers as the legitimate legislative authority in the state.
Governor Fubara filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, insisting the seats of the defected lawmakers remain vacant.
February 2025 – The Supreme Court restored Amaewhule’s position as the speaker, reinstated the others as legitimate members of the assembly, and nullified the local election organised by Fubara’s administration.
The lawmakers subsequently gave the governor 48 hours to re-present the budget.
The Governor had vowed to implement the order of the Supreme Court despite disagreeing with the verdict.
His efforts to re-present the budget were unsuccessful as the lawmakers denied him access to the assembly quarters last Wednesday.
The battle took a new twist when 26 lawmakers served a notice of alleged misconduct against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.
The notice of misconduct against the duo marks a resumption of the impeachment plot against them.
18 March- President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, which included the six-month suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the 27 members of the State House of Assembly.
President Tinubu cited a breakdown of public order and the destruction of the national economy, particularly the bombing of the oil pipelines.
18 March – President Bola Tinubu appoints Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd.), a prominent retired Nigerian Navy officer, as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, following his distinguished career as the 22nd Chief of Naval Staff (2015-2021), known for maritime security and modernisation.
He is tasked with restoring order and development in the state, focusing on security, governance, and economic stability.
During the period of the six-month suspension, President Tinubu engaged critical stakeholders from Rivers State, including Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the 27 House of Assembly members led by Martin Amaewhule.
Tinubu urged them to embrace peace, with every stakeholder coming to a peace deal which was not made available to the public.
17 September – Tinubu suspends Rivers State emergency rule, reinstating Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the 27 House of Assembly lawmakers.
However, the perceived peace deal seems to be a façade, with recent events suggesting that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has reneged on the agreement made before President Tinubu.
Rivers: No Second Chance For Fubara, Wike Threatens
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has threatened that there would be no second chance for Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, citing failure to provide effective leadership.
Wike expressed that any leader who is unable to maintain a working relationship with local government chairmen, members of the state House of Assembly, and other critical stakeholders lacks the capacity to govern effectively.
He made the remarks on Friday during a “thank you visit” to the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Wike said, “We must make decisions. I heard somebody saying that those who worked for Atiku are back. They couldn’t give Atiku 10 per cent. So what is the political advantage? I will not call their names because you all know them.
“We will do all we can to see that we give President Bola Tinubu all the total support that he requires.
APC Governors Back Fubara
Moves by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to scuttle the 2027 re-election bid of his successor, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, appear to have suffered a setback as several All Progressives Congress governors rallied behind the embattled Fubara.
Multiple sources in the APC confirmed that the renewed hostilities between Wike and Fubara were ignited by some top APC governors’ decision to back Fubara’s second term bid, a development the FCT minister found galling and is bitterly opposed to.
The latest development was further compounded by the APC leadership’s endorsement of Fubara, who appeared to have endeared himself to the party’s top echelons, many of whom have been praising his projects across the state.
Trouble reportedly started when forces loyal to Wike attempted to back the erstwhile National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Samuel Anyanwu, as the next governor of Imo State without consulting Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Wike Warns APC National Secretary Against Rivers Politics.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has warned the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, to refrain from interfering in political matters concerning Rivers State.
Wike issued the warning in response to comments credited to Basiru, who reportedly criticised the APC National Vice Chairman (South-South), Victor Giadom, over alleged disrespect toward Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Basiru was said to have suggested that Giadom’s actions were aimed at gaining favour with Wike.
The remarks followed Wike’s recent “thank you” visit to Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
APC Nat’l Secretary Fires Back At Wike
The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to immediately resign his appointment, accusing him of using his ministerial position to interfere in the internal affairs of the ruling party and fuel political tension in Rivers State.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, January 5, 2026, the APC scribe said his attention had been drawn to what he described as a tirade by the minister against his person and office, following his position that members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) must accord sitting governors due respect as leaders of the party in their respective states.
He expressed shock that what he termed an “innocuous statement” could provoke what he described as uncouth reactions from a member of the Federal Executive Council, noting that such conduct was unbecoming of a serving minister.
You’re Not 001 of Rivers, Wike Tells Fubara
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, over his claim of being the “001” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking during his end-of-the-year media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday, Wike dismissed suggestions that Governor Fubara had emerged as the leader of the APC in Rivers State, insisting that such a position does not exist based on party registration procedures.
Fubara had earlier declared himself “001” after being issued the membership number during his registration with the APC in the state.
However, Wike questioned the basis of the claim, saying, “He (Fubara) decamped to APC with whom? What is 001? Let me tell you, there’s nothing like 001 in the state.
Rivers Assembly Begins Impeachment Proceedings Against Fubara, Deputy
The Rivers State House of Assembly has presented notice of allegations of gross misconduct against the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Relying on Section 188 of the 1999 constitution as amended and other extant laws, the Leader, Major Jack, read the notice against the Governor while the Deputy Leader, Linda Stewart, read the notice against the Deputy Governor.
The major points in both notices revolve around non-presentation of the Budget, spending state funds without legislative approval, withholding of salaries and funds accruing to the Rivers State House of Assembly, the clerk and the Assembly Service Commission, non-screening of government appointments by entities other than the legitimate House of Assembly and the demolition of the assembly complex.
