Tinubu trades Rivers democracy for Wike’s 2027 loyalty deal

DDM News

Nigerians have expressed outrage over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s silence on the political crisis in Rivers State during the 2025 Democracy Day address.

This comes as many citizens and political observers hoped Tinubu would seize the symbolic occasion of June 12 to restore democratic governance in the troubled state.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) reports that the president’s failure to mention Rivers State has renewed fears that democracy is being deliberately undermined in the oil-rich region.

Rivers State has been under a controversial state of emergency since March 2025, following months of conflict between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and benefactor, now Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.

President Tinubu declared the emergency under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, citing rising tensions and threats of violence.

He accused militants loyal to the governor of fanning the flames of unrest and warned that democracy could not function amid such instability.

Despite the suspension of the governor and the imposition of a Sole Administrator, critics argue that the situation has worsened, with funds being allocated without transparency and development stalling.

Residents told DDM that ongoing projects initiated by Governor Fubara have been abandoned, and new ones are nonexistent.

Several leaders and activists across the South-South zone and beyond have condemned what they describe as President Tinubu’s calculated strategy to hand over Rivers State’s political structure to Wike in preparation for the 2027 general elections.

Former Bayelsa Governor and serving senator, Henry Seriake Dickson, said Tinubu’s silence on Rivers State during his Democracy Day speech was a missed opportunity to defend Nigeria’s democratic ideals.

According to Dickson, the president could not claim to be a democrat while trampling on the constitutional rights of Rivers people.

“This is not about political affiliations,” Dickson said.

“This is about the sanctity of our Constitution and the will of Rivers people.”

Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner and APC chieftain, Chizy Enyi, alleged that Tinubu’s goal is to dominate the state politically and use it to win the 2027 presidential election.

Enyi argued that the president had no constitutional right to suspend a democratically elected governor but did so anyway to empower Wike’s loyalists.

He accused Tinubu of enabling military-style governance under the guise of emergency rule while allowing Wike’s allies to seize control of local government structures.

“Everything Tinubu has done shows he handed over Rivers to Wike,” Enyi said.

He warned that the president is ignoring court rulings and Supreme Court judgments that outlaw the appointment of Sole Administrators for local governments.

Enyi noted that any attempt by Fubara’s supporters to take similar actions would have resulted in violent pushback from Wike’s camp.

He said the Rivers crisis is not rooted in security threats but in the president’s political ambition and a desire to secure loyal structures for 2027.

“All appointments, all elections under this state of emergency are in favor of Wike’s people,” Enyi added.

“He has taken away Rivers people’s democratic mandate.”

Former APC spokesperson and political commentator, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, echoed similar sentiments, saying Tinubu’s actions amount to a plan to “underdevelop” Rivers State for political gain.

According to Eze, the emergency rule was never about security concerns but a premeditated attempt to neutralize former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi.

Eze said the president sees Amaechi as a political threat and is targeting him by dismantling his support base in Rivers.

“Tinubu has captured the state and its resources for his 2027 ambitions,” he said.

Eze further claimed that peace had existed in Rivers long before the emergency declaration and described Tinubu’s actions as an “evil agenda” masked as intervention.

He lamented that supposed leaders from Rivers State are celebrating their own people’s political subjugation.

“They are dining with the man who is destroying their land,” he said.

Residents have also criticized the effects of the emergency rule on development.

Port Harcourt resident, Dike Emmanuel, expressed concern that funds from the Federation Account are being misused, while vital road projects have been halted.

Finipri Obomanu, another resident, said there was no need for emergency rule as the state had been largely peaceful.

He challenged anyone to compare the level of violence in Rivers with crisis-ridden states like Benue, Zamfara, or Plateau.

“All we asked was to be allowed to benefit from democracy like every other state,” he said.

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide also weighed in, calling on Tinubu to lift the emergency rule and reinstate Governor Fubara along with the elected state lawmakers.

The group argued that the president, being a major beneficiary of Nigeria’s democratic journey, must not be seen as a suppressor of democracy.

The Council made its appeal ahead of the June 12 Democracy Day celebration and warned that continued autocratic rule in Rivers would be a stain on the president’s legacy.

Observers said the president had an opportunity to make a powerful statement by restoring governance and constitutional rule on Democracy Day but chose not to.

Instead, critics argue, he is emboldening a faction loyal to Wike, who is widely seen as the de facto leader of the state despite no longer holding a gubernatorial office.

Several political analysts believe that this move, while strategic for 2027, may backfire.

They argue that the people of Rivers State are politically conscious and may retaliate through the ballot box if they feel betrayed.

A Port Harcourt resident summed up the sentiment of many when he said, “The President may have gained Wike’s loyalty, but he has lost Rivers people.”

Many are now watching to see whether Tinubu will extend the state of emergency beyond the initial six months or move to normalize democratic processes before the 2027 polls.

Until then, the people of Rivers State say they remain disenfranchised, disappointed, and determined to reclaim their mandate.

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