ABUJA, Nigeria — Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), has defended Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara after the governor failed to appear at the government house in Port Harcourt on Thursday, September 18, 2025, a day after President Bola Tinubu lifted a six-month emergency rule in the state.
On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, Tinubu directed Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state house of assembly — all suspended during the emergency rule — to resume work on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
While the assembly reconvened, neither the governor nor his deputy made a public appearance.
Ibok-Ete Ibas, the retired naval chief who administered Rivers during the emergency, formally handed power back to Fubara on Thursday, September 18, 2025, declaring that law and order had returned.
Hundreds of residents who gathered outside the government house from early morning to welcome the governor left disappointed by midday when he did not show up.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Wike, who governed Rivers State before his federal appointment, dismissed criticism of Fubara’s absence, arguing that governance is not confined to a physical office.
“There is no law that says Fubara must resume today (Thursday). He is a governor. I don’t understand the way we operate,” Wike said.
“I was sworn in today, for example; it does not mean I will go to work tomorrow. You don’t know what my programmes are; you don’t know what the governor has scheduled to do; you don’t know where he is.”
The minister suggested that official duties could be carried out from anywhere.
“Governance does not mean you must be in the office governing; no, it is not true. Do you know whether he is in Abuja doing one thing or the other?” he asked.
Wike added that he had spoken to Fubara on Wednesday about his travel schedule.
“I spoke with Fubara on Wednesday. I told him I was leaving for Abuja last night, and he told me he was going back (to Rivers) today, Thursday,” he said.
When pressed about his long-running political rift with Fubara, Wike indicated that the dispute was over.
“I don’t talk to someone who I have not forgiven,” he remarked, praising Tinubu’s intervention.
“The president has done a great deal for us, and peace has been restored.”
