Byline: IDNN Politics Desk
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has condemned Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s decision to return to office later this month, saying it represents a surrender to coercion and undermines Nigeria’s democratic development.
Speaking on Channels Television’s , CUPP National Secretary Peter Ameh expressed disappointment, arguing that Fubara had placed his ambition above democratic principle.
“For me, I’m already disappointed in Fubara. What he wants is to get back to office. I think he should have given it all up. It wouldn’t have been bad to fight for the future generation,” Ameh said.
Fubara, suspended after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, 2025, is expected to return to office on September 18, following months of political crisis with his predecessor, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Ameh accused federal authorities of using state instruments to break Fubara’s resistance.
“He was beaten to surrender, and that is not good for our democracy. The state’s instrumentality was deployed against him, and he surrendered,” he declared.
The CUPP official urged stakeholders to protect Nigeria’s fragile democracy by resisting the normalisation of such coercion.
“Whether it’s a semi-democratic process or a full one, we must nurture it to maturity so that future generations can freely go to the polls,” Ameh stressed.
The Rivers crisis has remained one of the most consequential subplots of Nigerian politics in 2025, with Tinubu’s emergency rule handing extraordinary powers to Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as sole administrator.
Analysts say Fubara’s decision to return may stabilise governance in the short term but raises longer-term concerns about whether democracy can withstand systemic pressures.
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