Nigeria's former president Obasanjo did not advise suspended Rivers state governor to declare state of emergency
IN SHORT: Several Facebook posts claim that former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo told governor Siminalayi Fubara to declare a state of emergency in Rivers state. But the state government and the former president have denied this claim.
Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo visited the suspended Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and advised him on how to handle the political crisis in the state. This is according to several posts on social media.
An 18 March 2025 post reads, in part: "Shutdown Rivers Assembly. Declare State of Emergency in Rivers State - #Obasanjo Visits SIM #Fubara."
According to the post, Obasanjo told Fubara: "Shutdown Rivers Assembly. Declare State of Emergency in Rivers State ... You are the governor, elected by the people. You are the Chief Security Officer of #RiversState. What you order stands--neither Tinubu nor Wike put you in power. Demolish any hall or arena set to host your impeachment. Tinubu needs Rivers votes to win the 2027 election, and you stand in his way."
Obasanjo was president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007.
Rivers state is located in the southern part of the country.
The political instability in the state started in 2023 when Fubara fell out with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike. Fubara was elected governor in March 2023. A few months later, lawmakers loyal to Wike initiated impeachment proceedings against him. While the proceedings were later withdrawn, this led to a major political crisis.
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In March 2025, Fubara lost his court bid to dismiss pro-Wike lawmakers. Since then, calls for his resignation or impeachment have intensified.
Things took a dramatic turn on 18 March when Nigerian president Bola Tinubu announced a state of emergency in the state and suspended Fubara, his deputy and the state's house of assembly.
The same claim can be found here, here and here.
But did Obasanjo, a vocal critic of Tinubu's administration, tell Fubara to declare a state of emergency in Rivers and fight for his position as governor? We checked.
Rivers state government debunks claim
The political crisis in the state has been making headlines since it started. If Obasanjo had visited Fubara, the media would have reported on it. But we found no credible reports on such a development. This is a sign that the claim might be false.
On 18 March, Nelson Chukwudi, the governor's chief press secretary, released a statement debunking the claim.
Part of the statement reads: "There is also another planted by some people bent on causing chaos and anarchy in the State, alleging that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, paid a visit to the Governor in Government House, Port Harcourt. Ordinarily, we would not have responded to these spurious claims and obvious fake news on social media, but ... let it be clarified that there was no such visit by any delegation of PANDEF to Governor Fubara on the said date, neither did Chief Obasanjo visit him as claimed by our detractors."
Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo's media aide, also told the media that the claim was false.
