“When Wike Was Governor, He Had to Call Me Before Visiting The Assembly” – Ex-Speaker Ibani Faults Fubara

Former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, has criticized Governor Siminalayi Fubara for failing to properly notify the House before his visit to present the 2025 budget—a claim that Fubara has refuted.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television breakfast programme, Ibani drew from his experience as Speaker between 2015 and 2023, stating that during Nyesom Wike’s tenure as governor, Wike always informed him privately before visiting the Assembly.

“I operated as Speaker from 2015 to 2023. When Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was governor, I informed him to look at the state of the Assembly Quarters,” Ibani explained.

“He had to write to me; he had to call me that he would be visiting the Quarters of Rivers State House of Assembly. I then put the members on notice that the governor of Rivers State was coming. He couldn’t have driven down there to inspect knowing that it is a different institution headed by a different official of government.”

Fubara Denied Access to Rivers Assembly Quarters

The ongoing political rift between Governor Fubara and the Wike-backed House of Assembly escalated on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, when the governor was denied entry into the Assembly Quarters.

He had gone there to re-present the 2025 budget, as mandated by the legislature following a Supreme Court ruling on February 28, 2025.

While Fubara claimed he had informed Speaker Martins Amaewhule about his visit, the Assembly insisted they received no formal communication.

Ibani linked the incident to the long-standing feud between Fubara and Wike, which dates back to 2023.

“What happened yesterday (Wednesday), nobody should treat it in isolation; it should be taken holistically. It didn’t just happen because it was to happen yesterday, it started from somewhere,” Ibani noted.

He further emphasized the importance of due process in government operations, stating, “When you are elected into a position of trust and authority, your personal interest should take the background while the interest of the people should take the foreground.

“You don’t know the legislative calendar of the legislature. A governor or a president cannot just walk to the assembly to present a budget.

“The process that will lead to that is the exchange that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that the governor comes and the budget is presented in the interest of the people.”

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