Fact-check: Did Governor Sim Fubara Shutdown NNPC and Other Oil Companies in Rivers?

Fact-check: Did Governor Sim Fubara Shutdown NNPC and Other Oil Companies in Rivers?

Claims have emerged that the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, has shut down oil-producing companies, including the government-owned NNPC, allegedly due to the recent court ruling barring the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from disbursing federal allocations to the state.

The text has the following caption, “Breaking News: Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara Shuts Down NNPC and All Oil Companies in Rivers State, Declares “No Allocation for Rivers State, No Oil for Nigeria”

“In a bold move, Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara has ordered the shutdown of NNPC and all oil companies operating in Rivers State, declaring that without federal allocation for Rivers State, there will be no oil for Nigeria.

“Within minutes of the shutdown, Nigeria dropped in the global oil production ranking from 4th to 24th. Governor Fubara has openly challenged Minister Nyesom Wike and President Bola Tinubu to take action against this stance and see Nigeria boil,” the claim further reads.

This widely circulated claim has many people asking: is Rivers State becoming a lawless enclave?

Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja has recently restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State Government.

Also, power struggle has been ongoing between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), since 2023.

Although Wike allegedly played a key role in Fubara’s election, the two have since fallen out over the appointment of certain commissioners, their subsequent resignations, and Wike’s attempt to reinstate them, which was part of a contentious peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu.

Nonetheless, to verify the accuracy of the claims, PRNigeria‘s fact-check team conducted a keyword search and found that the claims began trending after the ruling of Abuja Hight court barring federal allocations to Rivers State. The claims have since been shared by several online media outlets and blogs with similar captions.

Further investigation uncovered another report with a caption, ‘Wike vs Fubara: Niger Delta militants threaten to bomb oil installations over alleged plot to stop state’s LG allocation.’ However, this report is unrelated to Governor Sim Fubara.

However, the Rivers State government has released a statement through Warisenibo Joe Johnson, Hon. Commissioner for Information and Communications, denying the report that Governor Sim Fubara shut down the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

According to the statement also sent to PRNigeria, it reads “the attention of Rivers State Government has been drawn to a spurious news item circulating on social media on “Gov. Siminalayi Fubara shutting down NNPCL and all oil companies in Rivers State.

“The report was not only false, but a concocted propaganda from the imagination of the author and enemies of the State. The story was also circulated by an inconsequential and unverified medium.

“Governor Siminalayi Fubara is committed to the rule of law and does not rely on unconventional and crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.

“We therefore enjoin Rivers people and well-meaning Nigerians to discountenance the spurious and fake report as Governor Fubara at no time contemplated and/or directed such needless order of shutting down the economy for any reason.”

Conclusion: There is no any credible news platform that reported the allegations before the official statement from Rivers State Government debunking the claim. 

PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim that that Governor Sim Fubara had shut down oil companies, including NNPC in the state is FALSE.

PRNigeria