FCT, Abuja – The Rivers state political crisis has escalated as Ijaw groups threatened violence, warning against the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The group included the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC).
According to the group, any move to impeach Governor Fubara could destabilised the Niger Delta region and disrupt oil production, a direct threat to the federal government.
According to The Punch, the threat came as the ultimatum issued to Fubara by the Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly to resubmit the 2025 budget for approval expired today, Wednesday, March 5.
The assembly had issued the ultimatum after the Supreme Court reaffirmed its legitimacy on Friday, February 28, 2025. The judgment had intensified the ongoing political crisis between Governor Fubara and the lawmakers loyal to his predecessor and Federal Capital Territory’s minister, Nyesom Wike.
According to the apex court, the state allocation should be seized and the local government election conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission on October 5, 2024, was illegal, null and void.
Following the Supreme Court judgment, the assembly exercised its authority and had its first sitting on Monday, March 3, 2025. The lawmakers then issued 48 48-hour ultimatum to Governor Fubara, noting that their 12-week recess would commence on March 7. However, the ultimatum expired on Wednesday, March 5.
Rivers crisis: INC, IYC threatened violence
Ahead of the ultimatum issued to Fubara, the INC, IYC and other groups warned that there would be a crisis in the state should Fubara be removed. Prof Benjamin Okaba, the INC President, said that the impeachment was condemnable. He warned that the Ijaw people would sit back and watch their first riverine governor in decades to be removed.
In a statement, Okaba criticised the Supreme Court judgment on the political crisis in Rivers, saying it did not acknowledge the historical and political sacrifices the Ijaw people have made to governance in the state.
On its part, the IYC called for restraint and warned that those plotting to use the Supreme Court judgment to impeach the governor should tread cautiously.
Dr Theophilus Alaye, the IYC president, in a statement appraised the Supreme Court judgment but faulted the ground in which the judges based their decisions on.
Wike reacts to Supreme Court judgment on Rivers
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has been seen singing and praising God, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the suit filed by the 27 lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In the video which was shared by his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, the minister, who was also the immediate past governor of Rivers state, was with the former Governor of Abia State and member of the Wike-led G5 governors ahead of the 2023 election, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.
