There are all indications pointing to the fact that the political storm in Rivers State will evaporate any time soon, and when it does, many casualties will lick their wounds in pains – Azowue, O. E. (2025)
Those supporting the personal interest of a single individual against that of the entire people of a state should be willing and ready to reap the fruit of the labours when the chips are down – Azowue, O. E. (2025)
You cannot claim to be a democrat while imposing your whims and caprices on a people that are tired of your overbearing attitude – Azowue, O. E. (2025)
The political waters in Rivers State is presently boiling beyond expectations, and when the water overflows, it will certainly consume many souls and lead to uncountable casualties. For technical reasons, the Supreme Court's decision that Rivers State's free and fair local government elections were invalid and that the decamped members of the State House of Assembly were still valid members was a constitutional abracadabra that has yet to be explained to laypeople.
This is the same Supreme Court that previously held that once a legislator decamps from the party under which he or she was elected, automatically looses his or her seat, and this same Supreme Court is singing a different song today. What has really changed? We are in deep mess in this country as the Supreme Court has shown in recent times to be singing different songs on the same matter at different points. Nigeria judiciary is indeed in a state of confusion and deep in a cesspool of corruption.
It is now obvious that the long predicted bloody revolution that will end the present shenanigan called democracy in Nigeria is coming closer than we had thought. This is because very soon Nigerians may not be able to stomach the judicial recklessness that have become a daily routine in the country. Imagine that the same Supreme Court just a few days ago sentenced a man to death and not even a few years in prison for killing a herdsman who was attempting to kill him in self-defense. This judicial madness will end sooner than the present Nigeria elites may have predicted.
While many Nigerians were not expecting Governor Fubara of Rivers State to obeying the Supreme Court judgment that ordered him to must re-present the 2025 budget of the state to the Martins Amaewhule led State Assembly because of the long political battle between him and the State Legislator; the Governor humbled himself and went to the legislative quarters where the Assembly members were having their session to present the State budget to them, only to be locked out and harassed by the gateman in the quarters. This is an insult taken too far!
It now stands to reason that the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly in Rivers State have concluded their plans to impeach the Governor, possibly as a result of being instructed to do so by their political benefactor and godfather. They are now preventing every possible means that will lead to brokering of peace between them and the Governor. Their benefactor has instructed them to impeach the Governor with the believe that heavens will not fall, and that nothing will happen. But dear friends and readers, any attempt to impeach the Governor, indeed something will happen. Resistance and chaos will surely envelop the state, and not even the political godfather of the State Assembly will be able to quench this fire when it sets out.
Martins Amaewhule led Assembly in Rivers State believing that it will be hard to impeach the Governor with the present Chief Judge of Rivers State being in charge of the judiciary in the state, have come up with a purported age falsification allegation against the Chief Judge.
They intend to move him out of the way before they will begin the impeachment process. Unfortunately, even if they succeed in removing him, constitutionally, it is still the Governor that will appoint an Acting Chief Judge in the State, hence, impeaching the Governor may be a herculean task that they may never succeed in achieving.
Also, attempt by the Assembly to coarse the Chairman of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Enebeli (Rtd) have failed to yield any fruit, and they are now pushing that the EFCC should arrest and try him for financial misconduct, which I don’t see flying. Though, some members of the Commission have resigned from the board, but I don’t see the chairman bending to the whims and caprices of the State Assembly.
Justice Enebeli seems to me like a man who, when his mind is made up, cannot be pushed around, and he has already made up his mind to conduct another local government election in August, 2025, and INEC has also gone ahead to release the voters register of the state to the commission, so, the leadership of the Assembly must have to device another means to take him out of the way, because except that is done, the local government elections scheduled for August this year will take place, come rain or shine. The Assembly members will learn the lesson of never overextending one's luck if they fail in their attempt to remove the Governor, which would be unfortunate for them.
The pronouncement by the Supreme Court that the State allocation should not be released to the State until the budget is present will not stop governance in the state. Rivers State is one of the few states in Nigeria that can comfortably function without the federal allocation and I see that playing out this time around. And if this issue is allowed to linger to that very point where the state will have to go for months without federal allocations being released to the state government, then this political battle will take a different shape and different approaches will be deployed in the political battlefield.
If the Governor is successful in navigating the current political battle until 2027, when there will be another round of elections, Nyesom Wike will understand the true power of a seating Governor, as he stated himself when he was campaigning for the election of Governor Fubara. As a result, I don't want to believe that the gods are about to deal a significant blow to Nyesom Wike and his political allies. I also don't want to believe that President Ahmed Bola Tinubu is using the political fight in Rivers State to set Nyesom Wike up and keep him busy at home while making him less focused on what's going on in the center.
There are feelers who believe that the political battle between Nyesom and Fubara may have been fuelled and sustained by some forced behind the scene in the presidency. At the end of the day, this could have been a route that some powerful forces in the presidency used to get rid of Nyesom Wike. I just want to believe that these are mere speculations, because if they are true, then Nyesom Wike may not be able to withstand the shock that will come after it.
It is also believed that the president had decided to remain silent as Nyesom Wike threatens fire and brimstone against the Ijaw nation, and some of its agitators that have threatened to sabotage oil pipelines should their son, be impeached by Nyesom Wike Assembly lackeys. The silence of the president is believed to have been premised on calculated scheme aimed at pitching Nyesom Wike against some of those who had stood by him for years now, hence reducing his political influence in his state and the Niger Delta region in general.
However, Nyesom Wike, who is at the center of the current crisis in his state, appears to have been carried away by the alleged support he appears to be receiving from the federal government at the moment and his opportunity to take decisive action against Fubara for attempting to rise from his previous slavery mattress while Wike was in charge. The days ahead are full of political uncertainties and time will reveal all that is hidden when the whole chips must have settled down