Rivers: Pro-Wike Women In  Street, Protest, Say No More Fubara

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Apparently not wanting to be  outdone or outwitted by opposing forces, the camp of the Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, on Monday, April 14, hauled hundreds of women to the streets of Port Harcourt in a solidarity march for emergency rule, and  the Federal Government- appointed Sole  Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok- Ete Ibas.

Earlier, last week, hundreds of women had stormed major streets in PH,

to register their displeasure both with the declaration of state of emergency ,and the conducts of the Sole Administrator .

The women who were dressed in black attire demanded for an immediate end to the emergency rule, insisting that ,there were no justifiable grounds to take such an anti-people and anti-democratic step.

They maintained that if anything, the conducts and policies of the Sole Administrator since coming on board have exposed the real intentions of the progenitors of emergency rule which they noted was simply for  power grabbing

Instructively, the complaints of the protesting women, were somewhat given  credence by the decision of the House of Representatives to institute a Committee to  monitor the activities of Admiral Ibas.

In a statement issued on Sunday,  April 13, the House of Representatives approved the an Ad-hoc committee of 19 members to be headed by the Majority Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere to supervise the emergency Rule.

The Committee,  according to the statement issued by the House spokesperson, Hon Akintunde Rotimi, is primarily charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the emergency rule in Rivers State is implemented strictly in line with the resolution of the House during the approval of the emergency proclamation by the President.

Before this, the House, through the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Information, had warned Admiral Ibas against the temptation of over-stepping his approved roles.

Specifically, the Federal Lawmakers had cautioned him against the plan to prepare a fresh 2025 appropriation bill for the State, noting that his mandate does not cover such.

Perhaps, sensing that the earlier protest by the anti-emergency women may have had a direct impact on the decision of the House to put in place a monitoring team, pro-Wike forces on Monday decided to equally announce their presence with their women taking over major streets in protest against the return of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The protesting women, who were dressed in an  all white attire, insisted on the legality and necessity of the emergency rule as declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on March 18, 2025.

With different anti-Fubara and pro-emergency placards, the women  marched from the Isaac Boro Park to adjourning streets expressing their total support for emergency rule, and the actions so far taken by the Sole Administrator.

Some of the placards read: “State of emergency is constitutional, we don’t want Fubara”, etc

Led by a known loyalist of the FCT Minister, and former Commissioner for Social Welfare in the State,  Ifeyinwa Aguma, the women also insisted on the constitutionality of emergency proclamation.

While applauding President Tinubu for his timely intervention in the Rivers State crisis, the women commended Admiral Ibas for a job well done.

They urged him not to succumb to the “distracting antics of some forces” who they alleged want to plunge Rivers into chaos and anarchy.

“What we are doing here today is a solidarity march in support of the State of Emergency in Rivers state.

“Since the declaration, there has been peace. We no longer hear about killings and cult related activities”, Hon Gladys Nweke ,a former Vice chairman of Etche Local Council noted.