Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has defended Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara over his absence from the government house on Thursday, a day after President Bola Tinubu lifted the six-month emergency rule in the state.
Gatekeepers News reports that Tinubu had directed Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers House of Assembly — all suspended during the emergency period — to resume duties on September 18. While lawmakers reconvened for plenary, neither the governor nor his deputy made public appearances.
Earlier that day, Ibok-Ete Ibas, who served as sole administrator during the emergency rule, formally handed power back to Fubara, declaring that law and order had been restored. Hundreds of residents who gathered at the government house in Port Harcourt hoping to welcome the governor left disappointed when he failed to show up.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Wike said there was no legal requirement for Fubara to return to his office immediately.
“There is no law that says Fubara must resume today (Thursday). He is a governor. I don’t understand the way we operate,” Wike argued.
“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.”
He added that political officeholders are not restricted to carrying out their duties from a physical office.
“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 said.
Wike also confirmed he spoke with Fubara on Wednesday and had been briefed on his itinerary.
“I told him I was leaving for Abuja last night, and he told me he was going back (to Rivers) today, Thursday,” he said.
On whether their long-running political feud had ended, the FCT minister replied:
“I don’t talk to someone who I have not forgiven.”
He commended President Tinubu for his intervention, saying: “The president has done a great deal for us, and peace has been restored.”
