REWIND: ‘Don’t look for Wike’s trouble o’ — in 2023, Fayose warned Fubara about FCT minister

Ayodele Fayose, ex-governor of Ekiti, advised Siminalayi Fubara, suspended governor of Rivers, against engaging in a rift with Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

Speaking in May 2023, at the state banquet held in honour of Wike after he handed over the reins of power to Fubara, Fayose said Wike never backs down from a fight.

“Your excellency, my counsel to you: God will help you. Don’t see more than what you should see,” Fayose said. 

“The moment you want to see more than you should see, you will begin to see spirits.

“I know Wike. If he says he will fight you, it is either you surrender or you look for the trouble to the end. 

“God will not give you Wike’s problem.”

A year later, Fayose said the current conflict between Fubara and Wike had “crossed the rubicon”.

POLITICAL CRISIS LEADS TO FUBARA’S SUSPENSION

A few weeks after Fayose’s banquet counsel, the power struggle between Fubara and Wike began dominating the headlines. 

The rift led to the polarisation of the Rivers assembly.

The crisis took a new twist on February 28, 2025, when the supreme court upheld a federal high court ruling barring the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from releasing Rivers state’s statutory monthly allocations.

The court also nullified the local government elections conducted in the state on October 5, 2024.

Following the judgment, the Rivers house of assembly resumed sitting and commenced moves to impeach Fubara.

At the peak of the crisis in October 2023, an attempt to impeach Fubara resulted in the demolition of the Rivers house of assembly.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing the protracted political crisis and threat to oil installations.

The president suspended Fubara, Ngozi Odu, his deputy; and all house of assembly members; for six months.

Tinubu nominated Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice-admiral, to administer the state.

On Thursday, the senate and the house of representatives controversially approved Tinubu’s request for the emergency rule.