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Rivers People Not Happy But Waiting For End To State Of Emergency — Annkio Briggs

In March, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State after a prolonged political crisis in the coastal state.


Governor Fubara (left), President Tinubu (centre) and FCT Minister Wike at their meeting on Thursday, 26 June 2025.

 

Environmentalist Annkio Briggs says Rivers people are not happy with the state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu, but noted that they are expecting the decision to elapse by October 1. 

Briggs said this on Tuesday while fielding questions on Channels Television’s breakfast show Sunrise Daily.

“We are (Rivers people) still not happy, but we’re watching to see how this all ends up by the 1st of October,” she said on the show.

In March, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State after a prolonged political crisis in the coastal state. He suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Oduh, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial six months.

President Bola Tinubu swears in Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as sole administrator for Rivers State in Abuja on March 19, 2025

 

Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as the sole administrator to take charge of the state during that period.

Over three months after the move, Briggs claims that since the development, “nobody is really accounting for” the state’s fund since then, and that the “people of Rivers State are at the receiving end” of the decision.

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In June, President Tinubu, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Fubara, and the lawmakers met in Abuja. After the meeting, Wike, whose disagreement with the governor led to the crisis, said the parties have resolved their differences and are ready to work together.

“We have all agreed to work together with the governor, and the governor has also agreed to work with all of us,” the immediate past governor of the oil-rich state said after a late-night meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

However, the rights activist said nothing has changed in the state despite the meeting among the warring factions.

Annkio Briggs. Facebook/Annkio Briggs

 

When asked if the meeting had affected the political temperature within the team, she said, “Well, it has not.”

She claimed that Wike does not want to “see himself as a former governor but rather wants to see himself as someone who should be in control of the governance of Rivers State”.