The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has voiced firm opposition to any alleged political arrangement that would limit Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to a single term as a condition for his reinstatement.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, IYC President Theophilus Alaye declared that any such deal would be unconstitutional and amount to political coercion.
He said Fubara has a full constitutional right to contest for a second term in 2027, warning that no politician — including former Governor Nyesom Wike — should attempt to intimidate the incumbent.
“The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, is a citizen of Nigeria and by virtue of the Nigerian Constitution, we believe that the governor has the right to seek re-election,” Alaye said.
While acknowledging that reports of a single-term agreement remain speculative, Alaye insisted that the Ijaw Youth Council would back Fubara’s right to run again if he so chooses.
“If he has delivered the dividends of democracy for Rivers people, it is left for Rivers people to ask him to contest or not,” he said. “If a single term is part of any agreement he has signed or was pressured into, we will not support it.”
Alaye described such a condition as “an infringement on his fundamental human rights,” asserting that it violates the Nigerian Constitution.
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He reiterated the council’s historical stance against marginalization and political oppression, saying the Ijaw people would resist any attempt to silence Fubara’s political future.
“Oppression is what we would never support. Standing behind the Rivers State governor to seek re-election in 2027 is not going to be new for us,” he declared.
The development comes amid the ongoing political turbulence in Rivers State, where President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in March 2025 following a protracted crisis.
The president suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly.
However, signs of reconciliation surfaced in late June after Tinubu brokered a meeting between Fubara and Wike.
The two leaders announced they had reached an agreement to work together moving forward — though the terms of that deal remain unclear.