ABUJA, Nigeria — The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has issued a stern rebuke of suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s recent comments indicating a lack of interest in returning to office, warning that such remarks must not be misinterpreted as legitimising what it described as an unconstitutional takeover of the state government.
In a statement released on Monday, May 12, 2025, in Abuja, the rights group criticised Fubara’s public indifference, expressed during a service of songs in honour of elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
“Can’t you see how better I look? Do you think I am interested in it? Do you even know if I want to go back there? My spirit had already left that place long ago,” Fubara had said.
HURIWA said while the comments may reflect personal frustration, they do not override the constitutional process or the sanctity of the mandate conferred by the people of Rivers State.
“We are not responding to the person of Governor Fubara, but to the dangerous implications of what has happened in Rivers State,” the group stated.
“The President of Nigeria, as powerful as his office may be, has no constitutional right to suspend a governor or appoint a military administrator over any state. What has taken place in Rivers State is a coup against the Nigerian Constitution.”
The association emphasised that Section 180 of the 1999 Constitution outlines only three lawful means to remove a sitting governor: resignation, impeachment by the State House of Assembly under Section 188, or a court ruling.
HURIWA maintained that the President lacks the constitutional authority to suspend a governor or to appoint a sole administrator in place of an elected official.
Referring to Section 11(4) of the Constitution, the group noted that while the National Assembly may legislate for peace and order in the event of a breakdown of law and order in a state, it does not possess the authority to remove or suspend a governor.
“It is a mockery of our constitutional democracy for the federal government to take over a state without a formal declaration of a state of emergency by the National Assembly as required under Section 305,” the statement continued.
“Even with a state of emergency, the law does not authorise the appointment of a sole administrator. The office of the governor is a constitutional creation—not a presidential appointee.”
HURIWA cautioned that Fubara’s passive stance must not be misused to validate the suspension or the appointment of a retired naval officer, Ibok-Ete Ibas, as the state’s sole administrator.
“Even if Governor Fubara says he is tired or uninterested, it is not his mandate to discard. That mandate belongs to the people of Rivers State,” the group stressed.
“No governor can be suspended by executive fiat.”
The organisation warned that if such action is permitted in Rivers State, it could set a dangerous precedent, potentially paving the way for similar interventions in other states.
“Today it is Rivers. Tomorrow it could be any other state where political tensions exist. If the President can wake up and replace an elected governor with a retired naval officer, then what is the meaning of democracy?” the statement asked.
HURIWA called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, legal practitioners, and other democratic actors to speak out against what it termed “creeping authoritarianism.”
It also urged the judiciary to protect the constitution and nullify the suspension and appointment of a sole administrator in Rivers State.
“The Nigerian people must demand that democratic institutions be respected. The silence of some political actors is dangerous. Democracy dies not only by coups but by the silence of those who ought to speak,” the association concluded.
