The Ijaw National Council (INC) and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) have warned that they will resist any forceful attempt to remove the governor of Rivers State, Siminilayi Fubara, from office.
INC and IYC condemned the recent Supreme Court judgement, which reinstated the Martins Amaewhule-led members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who had been at loggerheads with the governor, and also sacked all elected local government chairmen in the state.
The groups further warned that should those threatening impeachment against Fubara carry out their threat, the youths of Ijaw nation will be left with no other options than to shut down all the flow stations in the Niger Delta.
But former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and justices of the Supreme Court, who heard the Rivers State case to avoid any temptation to doctor the original judgement.
Action Alliance (AA) said it had accepted the judgement of the Supreme Court in good faith.
At the same time, the chairmen of councils elected in 2015 vowed to take over the local government headquarters.
INC condemned the Supreme Court ruling, warning that it can lead to widespread instability in the Niger Delta.
In a statement, President of INC, Professor Benjamin Okaba, declared that the judgement failed to acknowledge the historical and political sacrifices made by the Ijaw people in Rivers State’s governance. It said any attempt to undermine Fubara would have dire consequences for national peace and economic stability.
The statement, which traced the history of what it called Ijaw sacrifices in Rivers politics, added that the Ijaw people had played a crucial role in shaping the state’s leadership for decades.
INC warned against any plan to destabilise Rivers State, saying, the Ijaw people will defend Fubara “with every pint of blood in their veins”. He emphasised that the Ijaw will not stand by and allow their long-awaited tenure to be truncated.
Okaba said while INC had worked tirelessly to preserve peace in the Niger Delta, leading to increased oil production and revenue for the nation, it was regrettable that the same resources were now being used to marginalise the Ijaw people.
He pointed out that the trend extended beyond Rivers State to Ondo, Edo, Delta, and Akwa Ibom, where Ijaws continued to face political exclusion.
President of IYC, Theophilus Alaye, in a statement, also said those threatening impeachment against Fubara should be careful because any forceful attempt to remove him from office will be resisted.
The group urged those bent on destabilising Rivers State to tread with caution.
Alaye said the grounds on which the Supreme Court nullified the Rivers State local government elections were very provocative and laughable, as other states equally relied on the 2023 Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voters’ register to conduct local government elections.
He stated that Rivers State, as a major contributor to the national coffers, should not be starved of funds from their God-given natural endowment.
The IYC president urged the apex court to review the judgement, saying it has agitated the youths of Ijaw nation, who had maintained peace in the Niger Delta and supported the President Bola Tinubu government.
He also warned that it was the fierce quest of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to take over opposition controlled states that led to the military take-over in 1983.
Alaye urged the Tinubu government not to create situations that would destroy the current democratic experience.
Nevertheless, Frank, in a statement, alleged that there were plots by some persons loyal to a former governor of Rivers State to import the issue of defection, which was still at the Court of Appeal, into the recent Supreme Court judgement to undermine the ongoing cases.
He stated, “There is an ongoing plot to doctor the Supreme Court Judgement on Rivers and insert issues of defection, that were not litigated by the parties, by the pro-Wike group to help destroy the pending cases on defection before the appeal court and Federal High Court.
“The issue of defection and legal battle to decide whether they were right or wrong is presently at the appeal court and Federal High Court, where Nigerians are waiting to see the judicial interpretation of the illegal act of cross carpeting at a time there was no division, which was also backed by a court affidavit sworn to by the defected lawmakers.
“We are calling on the Supreme Court, Chief Justice, and the Panel of Justices, who heard the case, to ensure that the desperate attempts do not taint their judgement and that the issue of defection, which is still at the appeal court, is not imported into the judgement to undermine the ongoing cases.
“We are confident that the eminent jurist who delivered the judgment knows the issues at stake and will not fail Nigerians by ensuring that a check is put on the Wike group’s political madness and desperation, which is threatening constitutional democracy in Nigeria.”
AA: We’ve Accepted Verdict in Good Faith
Action Alliance (AA) said it had accepted the judgement in good faith. National Chairman of AA, Chief Kenneth Udeze, who disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja, assured that the party would win more local government areas whenever the elections were conducted. He said this was due to the good performance of the sacked chairman of Etche Local Government Area, who was a member of AA.
Udeze spoke shortly after obtaining the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgement, which affirmed him as National Chairman of AA.
He stated, “Action Alliance has accepted the Supreme Court judgement in good faith and we believe that our chairmanship person in Etche local government has complied with the order.
“We believe that any day election is called up in Rivers State the people of Etche would definitely vote us back, because we have done very well in the last four months we have been in power.”
2015 Chairmen Vow to Occupy LG Councils
Elected chairmen of local government councils in Rivers State, who were sacked from office in 2015, vowed to take over the various councils.
The elected chairmen said they were returning to take over local government administration in the 23 local government areas of the state.
On Friday, an appeal court sitting in Port Harcourt set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court presided by Justice Lambo Akanbi, which sacked the local government chairmen elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had on May 23, 2015 conducted the local government election during the administration of then Governor Chibuike Amaechi.
But upon assumption of office as governor in May 2015, Nyesom Wike and Peoples Democratic Party filed a suit against the local government election that brought in the chairmen then in 2015.
Ten years later, on February 28, 2025, the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt overturned the decision of the lower court, which sacked the 23 council chairmen, ruling that the 2015 election was without encumbrances.
Delivering the judgement, a three-man panel of the appeal court, led by Justice A. H Lager-Balogun, criticised the Federal High Court judge that refused to hear the issue of jurisdiction raised by the applicants and to join them when it was clear that the outcome of the judgement would affect them.
Lager-Balogun, while stating that the chairmen and their councillors were duly elected, declared the judgement that earlier sacked them as null and void.
Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the chairmen stated that when the Supreme Court in its judgement on Friday voided the local government election conducted in the state in 2024, it restored their positions in the councils.
Speaking on behalf of the then council chairmen, Benson Imie from Etche Local Government Area recalled that “the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, has set aside the July 9, 2015 judgement of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which nullified the local government council election conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) on May 23, 2015”.
Imie stated that following the judgement the right people to take over the local government administration in the state were those elected in the 2015 election.
Fubara: Our People Will Suffer No More Loss
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara assured the people that under his watch, Rivers people will no longer suffer painful loss of lives and property as a result of moribund State Fire Service, as experienced under previous administrations.
Fubara gave the assurance on Tuesday, when he inaugurated the remodelled Rivers State Fire Service headquarters at Mile 1, Port Harcourt, with two other upgraded stations up for commissioning in the coming days.
The governor told stakeholders, “We are all aware of our situation. Years back, we were at the mercy of multinationals when faced with fire incidences. These incidences recorded huge losses in our homes and market places.”
He emphasised that the state lost Mile 1 and Fruit Garden Markets due to inability to respond to emergencies adequately. He added that homes and lives were also lost in the state because of inefficient fire service.
The governor stated, “Days ago, a tanker fell along the Woji/Elelenwo Road. If it were before, lives would have been lost. But immediately the incident happened, the fire service, not multinationals, the State Fire Service, responded and arrested the situation.
“I read that the purpose of governance is just one thing, to make the people happy. I believe strongly. Even as some persons are bent on discrediting us, Rivers people are happy, and that is the most important thing.”
He stated that by upgrading the state fire response infrastructure with well-built firefighting stations, the operations staff morale had been boosted.
“We can see they are back to life. Imagine a government that has a fire service station and the men manning there are not working but at the end of the month you pay their salaries in being unproductive,” he stated.
