There's a running joke in the turbulent world of naija-politics that if you're a commissioner in Rivers State, you should never unpack your boxes. Because one thing is certain: Sim Fubara will dissolve your cabinet before you know it. The man has made cabinet dissolution his signature governance style, and the frequency with which he's been sacking his own appointees is raising serious questions about stability, political independence, and the long shadow of Nyesom Wike over his administration.

Just yesterday, Thursday February 12, 2026, Governor Siminalayi Fubara dissolved the Rivers State Executive Council, ordering all commissioners and special advisers to hand over to the permanent secretaries or the most senior officers in their respective ministries with immediate effect.

The announcement was made in a Special Government Announcement issued Thursday night and signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Onwuka Nzeshi. And notably, alongside the cabinet dissolution, Fubara appointed Onwuka Nzeshi as the new Chief Press Secretary, while his former Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, was removed from office, although no official reason was provided for his dismissal.

This is not the first time. Not even the second time. Not even the third.

Let's count the cabinet dissolutions since Fubara assumed office in 2023, because the pattern tells an extraordinary story:

First Dissolution (June 2024): Fubara sacked Awuse, a strong ally of Wike, in June 2024 and appointed Chike Worlu Wodo in his place. This was Fubara trying to assert his independence from Wike by removing Wike's loyalists from his cabinet.

Second Dissolution (March 2025): When President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, the then state Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), suspended all of the commissioners, Special Advisers and Assistants Fubara had appointed. When Fubara returned, he had to rebuild his cabinet from scratch.

Third Dissolution (October 1, 2025): Governor Fubara returned from suspension and dissolved his cabinet, sacking all commissioners and other public office holders affected by the recent Supreme Court judgment on affairs in the state. Fubara retained eight commissioners and prepared a new list of commissioner nominees.

Fourth Dissolution (February 12, 2026): The dissolution comes in the wake of a meeting between Governor Fubara, President Bola Tinubu, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Four cabinet dissolutions in less than three years! That's a record that would make even the most unstable governments in Nigerian history blush.

But here's the most important question: Is there a Wike connection to each of these dissolutions? The answer, examining the evidence carefully, is an overwhelming yes.

Every single cabinet dissolution ties directly back to the Fubara-Wike power struggle. The June 2024 sacking was triggered by Fubara removing Wike's loyalist from his cabinet. The March 2025 emergency rule was imposed partly because of the political instability Wike helped engineer. The October 2025 dissolution followed the Supreme Court judgment that was connected to the broader Rivers political crisis. And now, the latest dissolution is said to pave the way for a new cabinet where members loyal to Wike would be considered.

It is gathered that as part of the agreement reached with Wike, Fubara is to accept some loyalists of the former governor into his new cabinet, while outstanding commissioners who worked with Fubara may return.

So let's call it exactly what it is: Fubara dissolved his entire cabinet because Wike, as part of the peace deal brokered by Tinubu, demanded the inclusion of his loyalists. The governor didn't dissolve his cabinet because of performance issues. He didn't do it because of policy failures. He did it because his political godfather demanded it as a condition of peace.

This is deeply problematic and goes to the heart of what ails governance in Rivers State.

Think about what this means for the commissioners who were just sacked. These are technocrats and political appointees who have spent months learning their ministries, building relationships with permanent secretaries, developing policy frameworks, and executing governance agendas. And just like that, with one announcement, they're out.

No reasons given. No performance evaluation. No consultation with the public. Just "hand over to the permanent secretary immediately." The terms of the peace agreement and how they relate to the cabinet dissolution have not been fully disclosed to the public.

That's not governance. That's political horse-trading with people's careers and livelihoods.

And the governance consequences are severe. The dissolution of the executive council signals a potential reset in the administration's approach to governance and political management. But four resets in three years? At some point, "reset" just becomes "chaos."

Rivers State has serious problems: infrastructure decay, security challenges, youth unemployment, oil spills, flooding. These problems require sustained, focused attention from a stable cabinet of competent ministers who have been in their positions long enough to understand the issues and implement solutions.

How do you address these problems when your commissioners change every few months? How do you implement long-term development plans when your cabinet keeps getting dissolved? How do you attract investment when the government's stability is constantly in question?

The answer is: you can't. And Rivers people are paying the price.

But here's what makes Fubara's situation genuinely sympathetic even as it's criticizable: he's not dissolving his cabinet because he wants to. He's dissolving it because he has no choice. His political survival depends on making concessions to Wike and Tinubu.

President Tinubu has intervened four times to broker peace between the feuding camps. Each intervention comes with conditions. And those conditions keep including cabinet reshuffles to accommodate Wike's allies.

Fubara is essentially governing at the pleasure of both Wike and Tinubu. His cabinet is not really his cabinet. It's a negotiated arrangement where political loyalty takes precedence over competence.

This marks the third time Tinubu has intervened in political tensions involving the governor, his estranged political godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and members of the state House of Assembly.

But even as we sympathize with Fubara's difficult position, the pattern raises fundamental questions about his ability to govern independently. A governor who keeps dissolving his cabinet every time there's a political crisis is not a governor who's in control. He's a governor who's constantly reactive, constantly making concessions, constantly allowing external forces to determine his governance choices.

This is the tragedy of naija-politics operating at its most destructive: political survival takes precedence over governance, personal deals supersede public interest, and the people of Rivers State are stuck with a revolving door cabinet that can't deliver consistent governance because it keeps getting dissolved every few months.

What does this mean for Fubara's second term ambitions?

On one hand, his willingness to make concessions shows he's pragmatic and understands the political landscape. On the other hand, it raises questions about whether he'll be any more independent in a second term than he's been in the first.

Can a governor who's dissolved his cabinet four times in three years credibly claim that he'll govern independently if reelected? Can he promise stability when his track record shows consistent instability? Can Rivers people trust that a second Fubara term won't just be more of the same cabinet dissolution drama?

These are the questions that should define his reelection campaign. Not whether he can outmaneuver Wike, but whether Rivers people deserve better than a governor whose cabinet changes more often than most people change their phones.

What do you think? Should Rivers people be concerned about Fubara's inability to maintain a stable cabinet? Is he really in control, or is he just governing at Wike's and Tinubu's pleasure? And can he be trusted with a second term given this pattern of constant cabinet dissolution? Drop your thoughts in the comments section!