Rivers Crisis: APC Chieftain, Tonye Cole Demands Step Down Of All Rivers Political Actors

The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tony Cole, has reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s suspension of Governor Sim Fubara and the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.

Naijaonpoint reports that Tinubu had, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu for six months while declaring a state of emergency.

Tinubu said he was greatly disturbed about the political crisis in the state and accused Fubara of demolishing the State House of Assembly building.

In an interview on Channels Television, Tonye Cole maintained that declaring a state of emergency means that everyone from Rivers State occupying political offices at the federal and state levels should also step down.

According to him, President Tinubu has to make hard decisions on the political side, stressing that declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State is a challenging decision for Fubara.

However, he said the necessary political steps to resolve the crisis have yet to be taken, warning that the conflict will persist without these actions.

He said, “Everybody who is a political actor at the federal level should step down. Everybody who is a political actor at the state level should step down. A very hard decision has to be made by the president on the political side.”