The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has vowed never to impose commissioners on Rivers State Governor, Sim Fubara, following his reinstatement.
Naija News reports that President Bola Tinubu had suspended Fubara, his deputy and Rivers State House of Assembly members for six months and reinstated them on Wednesday, September 17, 1015.
Despite President Tinubu’s order for Fubara to resume, the Governor has yet to make a public appearance or officially announce his resumption.
However, the lawmaker has directed him to submit commissioner nominees and the state budget.
Reacting to the directives, Wike, during an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, promised to give Fubara a free hand to govern the state and make it better than he met it.
He said, “I cannot go and impose anything on the Governor, why would I impose anything on the Governor? Assuming I go to the Governor and he says no, will the state collapse?
“I will not and I have no candidate, even if the Governor comes to me now and said we have agreed to work together which is natural, I will say look I give you free hand to pick what you want for the state.
“All I want to say is I know what I did and what I have done to keep the state to this level, don’t drop it, move ahead.
“As I speak to you, I left the state where we can compete favourably with Lagos and I can challenge anybody.”
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/an-saq-store-sign-in-montreal.png?id=34660264&width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C12%2C0%2C12"/><br/><br/><p>Quebecers might not see American liquor on the shelves for quite some time. The <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/saq-price-increase-2025" target="_blank">Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ)</a> will be pulling all U.S.-made alcohol from its stores this week in response to the <a href="https://www.narcity.com/trump-tariffs-canada-how-might-impact-you" target="_blank">25% tariffs recently imposed by Donald Trump's administration</a>.</p><p>Quebec is following <a href="https://www.narcity.com/doug-ford-tariff-threat-us-liquor-lcbo" target="_blank">Ontario's lead in banning American alcohol</a>, a move Finance Minister Eric Girard says is meant to protect Quebec's economy, local businesses, and consumers. Girard also hinted that more measures will follow.</p><p>"In reaction to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, we have asked [the SAQ] to remove American products from its shelves. More actions will follow. We will protect our economy, businesses, and citizens," the minister wrote in an X post that was later <a href="https://x.com/francoislegault?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1886116012048703912%7Ctwgr%5E97ecf5d0f6ab7203a2db7cb013b3863cc8e88c20%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mtlblog.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2671080549publish">reposted</a> by Quebec Premier François Legault.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1886116012048703912">
<div style="margin:1em 0"></div> — (@) <a href="https://twitter.com/francoislegault/status/1886116012048703912"></a>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Legault confirmed that as of Tuesday, February 4, no American-made alcohol will be sold at SAQ locations or supplied to grocery stores, bars, agencies, or restaurants across the province. While the ban will take effect immediately, it may take a few days before all products disappear completely.</p><p>The SAQ is already equipped with a wide selection of alternatives for common imported bottles, including Canadian wines and Quebec-made spirits from brands like Distillerie du Square, 3 Lacs, BluePearl, Les Subversifs, Cherry River, Cirka, Menaud, and Noroi.</p><p>Popular American alcohol brands that will disappear from SAQ shelves include California wines, Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Southern Comfort, Tito’s, The Kraken, Sailor Jerry, Smirnoff, Sour Puss, and White Claw.</p><p>For now, the SAQ has yet to confirm how it will handle existing stock or the financial impact of the decision.</p><p>The lifting of foreign liquor comes a few days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would join Mexico in imposing retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of goods, including alcohol. </p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1886164961400869251">
<div style="margin:1em 0"></div> — (@) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1886164961400869251"></a>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>With a trade war now in effect, Trump and Trudeau are expected to speak to each other on Monday morning, as per <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5122268-trump-to-speak-with-trudeau-mexico-after-imposing-tariffs/" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p><p>"I don't expect anything very dramatic. We put tariffs on. They owe us a lot of money, and I’m sure they're going to pay," the President said when asked about the meeting.</p><p><em>Love this? Check out our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/notices/" target="_blank">MTL Blog noticeboard</a> for details on jobs, benefits, travel info and more!</em></p><p><em>AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/editorial-standards" target="_blank">Editorial Standards page</a>.</em></p>
