Tonye Cole, the former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state says the office of the governor has already been comprised as Governor Siminalayi Fubara prepares to resume official duties following his suspension.

The APC chieftain indicated that the Governor won't be in charge of the state when he takes over the mantle from the Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, who was appointed sole administrator by President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Cole described Fubara’s situation as “extremely difficult” noting that the governor would not be able to make decisions without interference.

He said: “You know, it’s extremely difficult, and I think the governor will be finding himself in a very difficult situation.

“First of all, the way politics has played out in Nigeria, almost in every situation, a governor leaving office looks for somebody he believes can continue whatever agenda he had moving forward.

“Time and time again, we find out that where the new governor or whoever has come in as governor is left alone to kind of run his administration, then things kind of progress.

“Where you then see that doesn’t happen, almost always, we have ended up in this whole godfather, godson fight. And it’s never been good for democracy.”

Cole said such power struggles have always left citizens worse off.

He stated: “Everywhere that fight has occurred, the people have tended to suffer a lot more.

“My prayer is that as we come back, because we don’t know what we are going to see starting from tomorrow, the one thing that we are sure about is that the governor is not in a position to make any decision.”

He advised Fubara to reach an understanding with the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

“What I would do if I were him is to now sit down with the honourable minister and appeal for some leeway to allow certain decisions to be taken,” Cole added.