Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara is set to return to office next month, following the expiration of the six-month state of emergency declared in the state earlier this year.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, gave the assurance on Saturday after casting his vote in the Rivers State local government elections, where residents turned out in large numbers to elect council leaders.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had declared the emergency rule to avert a political crisis, suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly, while a caretaker administration managed the state.
Wike noted that the peaceful conduct of Saturday’s elections was evidence that Rivers was ready to resume full constitutional governance.
“As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful. People are trooping out, and at the end of the day, it has been conducted successfully. I do know that by September 18, the state of emergency will expire, the State Assembly will come back to their job, and we will have a government at the grassroots level,” Wike said.
The expiration of the emergency will see the reinstatement of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the State Assembly, ending months of federal intervention