Former Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Robinson Ewor, has claimed that Governor Siminalayi Fubara effectively surrendered political control of the state to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, following the declaration of emergency rule.
Ewor made the assertion on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show while reacting to Fubara’s endorsement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.
DAILY POST had earlier reported that Fubara publicly declared his support for the APC governorship candidate, Kingsley Chinda, during a political event on Wednesday.
Reacting to the development, Ewor argued that the governor’s latest declaration merely confirmed what had already been evident since the emergency rule was declared in the state.
“Everyone knows from the emergency rule that Fubara had already handed over the state to the FCT Minister (Wike),” he said.
“It is no news that he said it yesterday, and it will not make any news because, as far as I know, he has already given up since the emergency rule last year.”
Ewor alleged that during negotiations held after the declaration of emergency rule, Fubara conceded control of key political structures in Rivers State.
“During the declaration of the state of emergency, Fubara went into negotiations with the minister’s team. During that negotiation, Fubara handed over the leadership of the 23 local government councils in the state to the FCT minister,” he claimed.
The former PDP chairman also criticised the governor for allegedly failing to communicate the outcome of those negotiations to his supporters.
“But when he finished that negotiation, what we, the followers and supporters, expected from him was to come back home, gather his supporters and tell them, ‘This is the status quo as at now. This is the position of things today.’
“But he never did this and kept pretending,” Ewor added.
His comments come amid renewed political realignments in Rivers State following his endorsement of the APC governorship candidate and his declaration of support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.