Siminalayi Fubara is the Governor of Rivers State. A career civil servant chosen by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, to succeed him, Fubara fell out with Wike within months of taking office. The struggle for control of the state led to a split House of Assembly, Supreme Court rulings against the governor, six months of emergency rule in 2025, and his withdrawal from the 2027 race.12

Early life and career

Fubara was born in Opobo on 28 January 1975. He studied at Rivers State University and the University of Port Harcourt and rose through the state’s finance service to become Permanent Secretary and, from December 2020 to 2022, Accountant-General. In 2022 the EFCC named him among officials it wanted over alleged fraud in the state’s finances; these remain allegations.1

The 2023 election

With Wike’s support, he won the PDP primary in May 2022 and the March 2023 election with 302,614 votes against 95,274 for the APC’s Tonye Cole.1

The crisis with Wike

From late 2023 the House of Assembly split between a majority loyal to Wike, led by Martins Amaewhule, and a minority loyal to Fubara; the Assembly building was burnt and impeachment moves began. Peace deals brokered by President Tinubu did not hold. On 28 February 2025 the Supreme Court recognised the Amaewhule-led Assembly, voided the local government elections Fubara had organised and stopped federal allocations to the state until a lawful budget was passed.1

Emergency rule

On 18 March 2025, citing the political crisis and attacks on oil installations, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency and suspended Fubara, his deputy and the Assembly, appointing a retired naval chief as administrator. Opposition governors challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. Fubara was restored when emergency rule ended on 18 September 2025.34

2026: the APC and withdrawal

In December 2025 Fubara joined the APC along with the Amaewhule-led Assembly members. On 20 May 2026, days after dozens of his allies were screened out of the party’s primaries, he withdrew from the APC governorship primary, saying Rivers was “bigger than any individual”. The APC chose Kingsley Chinda as its candidate.125

Personal life

He is married to Valerie Fubara, and they have three children. He is an Anglican.1

References

  1. Siminalayi Fubara. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. Fubara withdraws from APC governorship primaries. ICIR, 20 May 2026. ↩ ↩

  3. Tinubu declares State of Emergency in Rivers. ICIR, March 2025. ↩

  4. Fubara bounces back as Tinubu lifts emergency rule. ICIR, September 2025. ↩

  5. Chinda emerges APC governorship candidate in Rivers. Arise News, May 2026. ↩