Ann-Kio Briggs Demands Transparency on Tinubu-Fubara Agreement Before Rivers Emergency Rule Ends

Niger Delta rights activist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has called for public disclosure of the agreement reached between President Bola Tinubu and Governor Siminalayi Fubara before the conclusion of the six-month emergency rule in Rivers State.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Briggs argued that Rivers residents have the right to understand the decisions made behind closed doors, warning that secrecy could undermine the governor’s credibility.

“We are the people who have paid the greatest price in all of these things, and to not be aware of the decision which will affect us, and therefore, we can’t gauge the extent to which these decisions will affect us, it becomes very difficult to flow with the politicians,” she said.

Briggs stressed that withholding details of the pact is “unacceptable” for people from the riverine communities, where Fubara hails from. “It’s just an impossible situation where we have found ourselves. We don’t know what the President has insisted on, we don’t know what was agreed upon, and where that leads the people of Rivers State. So, we need to know what was agreed on,” she added.

The activist also joined calls for Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), who served as the state’s sole administrator during the emergency period, to account for public funds spent under his watch. “The state funds spent during the emergency rule belonged to the people of the state and should be accounted for,” Briggs said.

Governor Fubara resumed office on September 17, 2025, after President Tinubu lifted the emergency rule. He was received at the Government House, Port Harcourt, by his wife, security officials, and key stakeholders before inspecting his residence and resuming official duties.

The governor, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly had been suspended on March 18, 2025, following the declaration of emergency rule amid political instability.

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