I only started acting as governor in February, says Fubara

Rivers State governor, Sir Similanayi Fubara, has said that he only started taking decisions and confronting governance as governor in February 2024, despite assuming office in May 2023.

Governor Fubara, who spoke on Tuesday during the inauguration of the Egbeda Internal Roads project in Emohua Local Government Area inaugurated by Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, reiterated that the projects people are seeing were accomplishments of four months.

He said, “We are just starting, but I assure you more attention. If in four months we can do this and we are getting this level of applause, you can imagine what will happen when we do one year of our record time and two years of our own record time. Rivers State would have experienced something different from regular governance.

“I know why I said four months. We started full governance in February 2024. That was when we started taking decisions, when we started confronting governance. And I am proud to say that our people are happy with what we have done.”

Recall that the rift between the governor and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, which came to the fore in October last year, has escalated in recent days, with the governor insisting that he was ready to go all out.

In a related development, a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has voided the tenure extension for local government chairmen in the state.

Delivering judgment in the suit instituted by the Rivers State Governor and six others, the judge, Justice D.G. Kio, affirmed that the lawful tenure for local government chairmen and councillors remained three years, as stipulated by the 2018 law, stressing that any attempt to extend the tenure was not only unlawful but also violated the officials’ oath of office.

Recall that the Martins Amaehwule-led state assembly had passed the amendment bill to allow for the extension of the tenure of council chairmen, but the governor withheld his assent, and the Assembly vetoed the governor and passed the bill into law.

However, the governor said the Assembly led by Amaehwule does not exist because of an existing court order secured after their defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the onset of the rift between the governor and his predecessor.