The President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Theophilus Alaye, has firmly rejected any deal that would force suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to accept a single term in office as a condition for his reinstatement.
Alaye made the declaration on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Tuesday, stating that any such condition would violate the Nigerian Constitution and amount to political oppression.
“The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, is a citizen of Nigeria and by virtue of the Nigerian Constitution, he has the right to seek re-election,” Alaye asserted. “No one—not even his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, or President Bola Tinubu—has the right to browbeat him into a one-term arrangement.”
Alaye acknowledged that details of such an agreement remain speculative for now, but stressed that should a one-term deal surface as part of a political resolution, the Ijaw Youth Council would strongly oppose it.
“When we get to 2027, we shall know if that is part of the agreement. And if he has delivered the dividends of democracy for Rivers people, it is left for them to decide whether he should contest again,” he said.
He described any such restriction as an infringement on Governor Fubara’s fundamental human rights. “If a single term is part of any agreement, then some of us are not going to be part of that because it goes against the constitution. Oppression is what we would never support.”
Alaye added that Ijaw youths are no strangers to resistance and agitation, having historically stood against marginalisation and political imposition.
“Standing behind the Rivers State governor to seek re-election in 2027 will not be new to us,” he said. “To sit down and watch a group of people infringe on his rights is something we, as a people, will never accept.”
Rivers Political Crisis
President Bola Tinubu had in March 2025 declared a state of emergency in Rivers State amid escalating political tension between Governor Fubara and his political godfather, Nyesom Wike. Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the State Assembly pending a resolution.
However, by late June, a peace meeting involving Tinubu, Wike, and Fubara reportedly produced a truce, with all parties pledging to work together. Speculation has since swirled that part of the resolution involved Fubara accepting to serve only one term in office.
The Ijaw Youth Council’s rejection of such a deal now adds a new layer to the evolving Rivers political saga and could signal growing resistance in the Niger Delta to perceived external manipulation of their democratic processes.
