Niger Delta rights activist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has called for full disclosure of the agreement reached between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and President Bola Tinubu prior to the lifting of the six-month emergency rule in the state.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Briggs insisted that Rivers people deserved to know the terms of the pact, warning that secrecy could undermine the governor’s credibility.
“We are the people who have paid the greatest price in all of these things, and to not be aware of the decision which will affect us… it becomes very difficult to flow with the politicians,” she said, describing the lack of clarity as “unacceptable,” particularly to residents of the riverine areas where Fubara hails from.
“It’s just an impossible situation where we have found ourselves. We don’t know what the President has insisted on, we don’t know what was agreed upon, and where that leads the people of Rivers State. So, we need to know what was agreed on,” she stressed.
Briggs also backed calls for Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), who served as sole administrator during the emergency period, to give a full account of public funds spent under his watch.
“The state funds spent during the emergency rule belonged to the people of the state and should be accounted for,” she said.
Governor Fubara officially resumed office on September 17, 2025, after President Tinubu lifted the emergency rule. He was welcomed at the Government House in Port Harcourt by his wife, top security officials, and stakeholders, before inspecting his residence and resuming official duties.
Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the State House of Assembly had been suspended on March 18, 2025, when emergency rule was declared in Rivers State following political instability.
